


Summer in the City

by DontSqueezeTheCharmie



Category: Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name (2017) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Like CMBYN but not really, M/M, New York City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2020-05-31 07:02:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 60,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19420885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontSqueezeTheCharmie/pseuds/DontSqueezeTheCharmie
Summary: A modern-day, Charmie CMBYN. Timmy is 17; it's the summer before his senior year at La Guardia High School for Music and Performing Arts. His parents are involved with a NYC-based theater foundation that hosts young visiting actors from around the country every summer. They’ve hosted a promising actor for the last 3 summers, ever since Pauline moved out of their apartment. This summer, they’re hosting Armie Hammer, a 24-year-old up-and-coming actor from Los Angeles.  In this AU, Armie is not with Liz and is just starting out in his acting career. Timmy is just Timmy, but is newer to acting, as well.





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim, a send-up to CMBYN, but with Timmy and Armie in NYC. Um, we'll see how it goes ...

Chapter 1

The Arrival 

6/30/2019 

Timmy burst through the front door of his family’s Manhattan apartment, declaring his state of starvation to whoever was within earshot, and demanding to know what there was to eat in the house. He was stopped short by the presence of both of his parents, a large duffle bag, and a tall blond stranger in the foyer. He felt his face flush hot with embarrassment at his childish outburst in front of this unexpected assemblage of people, and then belatedly recalled that the new summer guest was scheduled to arrive this morning. So….this towering golden-haired god was to stay in their home for the next six weeks. Timmy managed a weak smile as his father laid an affectionate hand on Timmy’s shoulder.

“Perfect timing. Armie, this very hungry boy is our son, Timmy. He’ll be in the room next to yours, and you’ll share the bathroom.” 

Armie stuck out an enormous hand towards Timmy. “Nice to meet you, Tim.”

Timmy warmed at the mature shortening of his name coming from the mouth of this beautiful man. Timmy took his hand- warm and firm to the touch- and shook it. 

“Nice to meet you, Armie. Can I take your bag to your room?” Timmy replied, knowing that that was what was expected of him.

A 100-watt smile lit up Armie’s face. “That’s okay; it’s pretty heavy. I can carry it myself. Do you mind showing me the way, though?” 

Timmy made his way through the cozy three-bedroom apartment to his room, with Armie close on his heels. Armie's eyes made a visual sweep of each room and seemed to take in everything as they walked: the family pictures on the wall; the den that contained shelves of books and record albums; the small galley kitchen with an elaborate cappuccino-maker taking up more than its share of counter-space. 

When they got to Timmy’s room at the end of the hallway, Timmy opened the door and gestured in.

“This is you. I’ll be on the other side of our bathroom, in my sister’s room.”

Armie entered and looked around the room, at the bulletin board covered in photos of friends, Yankee game tickets, and Playbills, the posters on the wall of rappers, and the desk covered in scripts and notebooks.

“Nice,” was his only comment. Timmy suddenly realized the mess he had left earlier that morning, and made quick work of the dirty laundry left on the bed and various papers on his desk. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, “I’ll get out of your way.” 

Armie glanced up at him again, and threw him another bright smile. “No problem. Thanks for giving up your room.”

Timmy opened his mouth to reply, but Armie was already busying himself, unpacking his duffle bag. Tim allowed himself a long look, taking in Armie’s cut arms peeking out of his short-sleeve Polo shirt, and his perfectly formed shoulders, rippling as he dug through his bag. He suddenly turned, perhaps feeling Timmy’s eyes on him. He raised his eyebrows and gave a small smile, as if to say, “Can I help you?” Timmy flushed and excused himself from the room. 

Timmy found his parents in the kitchen, putting together a platter of sandwich fixings for lunch. His mom, Nicole, eyed Timmy, leaning against the doorway. “Is Armie getting settled in okay? He must be exhausted. I can’t imagine that he slept too much, even on an early morning flight, with how tall he is.”

Timmy shrugged. Nicole walked over and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you for giving up your room, sweetie. Armie definitely would have trouble sleeping in Pauline’s twin bed. I know it’s a pain in your ass, though.” 

Timmy gave a second shrug, apparently his gesture du jour. He started to reply when Armie appeared in the small kitchen, making it seem that much smaller. Marc, Timmy’s father, pulled out a chair at the table for Armie.

“You must be hungry after that long flight, Armie. I hope sandwiches are okay. So, is this your first time in New York?” 

Armie spoke as he fixed his sandwich. “No, I’ve been here several times before, but always just for a night or two. I’m excited to have an extended stay and really get to know the city.”

Timmy watched as he spoke, rapt. He was happy to have a reason to look at him, and hoped that his parents would continue to quiz him so he could keep staring without feeling awkward. 

His mother chimed in next. “And this is your first stage experience?” 

Armie nodded. “Besides one or two school plays, which don’t really count, right?” 

Timmy bristled at this remark. He’d only done school plays so far in his acting career (and a few commercials, but THEY don’t count, right?), and he was quite proud of his performances. He ventured a comment.

“Well, I guess it depends on where you go to school. The plays at my school are practically Broadway caliber.”

Armie raised his eyebrows at this. ”Oh, really? Do you act, Tim?” 

Nicole answered quickly. ‘”Timmy goes to LaGuardia for acting, and he is quite talented!” She beamed with pride at Timmy, who shrunk down in his seat, mortified. 

“Yeah, I’ve been in a few plays,” he mumbled.

“Actually,” it was Marc’s turn to chime in and embarrass Timmy, “he is doing a summer intensive program at his school right now. They're doing a production of Streetcar Named Desire, and Timmy has the part of Stanley Kowalski.”

Armie looked duly impressed by this information and nodded at Timmy. “Wow, good for you! I’d love to see it, if possible. I hope whatever play I end up in is half as interesting as Streetcar.”

“When do you find out what production you’ll be working on?” Nicole and Marc had been working with the visiting actor program for several years, and knew that each actor would audition, and then be assigned to an established Off-Broadway production to work with. The actors work free-of-charge for the on-stage experience.

“We’re in workshops all this week, then auditions will be Friday. We should find out our production by Friday afternoon, to start Monday.”

Timmy sat quietly, happy to have the focus off of him. He started thinking about making an escape to his (well, Pauline’s) room, when his mother suddenly spoke up. “Timmy, why don’t you take Armie around the neighborhood this afternoon? He’s going to be living here for six weeks; he should know where things are.”

Armie looked as taken aback by this suggestion as Timmy felt, but he recovered quickly, smiled, and nodded. “That would be great, if that’s okay with you, Tim?”

Timmy felt simultaneously thrilled and terrified at the prospect of spending the entire afternoon alone with Armie. He gave small, tight smile. “Sure, no problem.”

They finished up their lunches, grabbed their sunglasses, and headed out into the city.


	2. Afternoon in NY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy shows Armie around his neighborhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm grateful for the enthusiasm you've all shown this new story. I'm excited for it, too!
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and Kudos. Each one is appreciated immensely! And a special thank you to thecosmicfragments for the beta help!

An Afternoon in NY

6/30/2019

Timmy and Armie set off from Timmy’s apartment. It was a perfect early-summer afternoon in New York; sunny and warm, but a breeze kept the heat from becoming oppressive. The boys took off down 8th, sometimes wandering down side streets so Timmy could point out his favorite pizza place, bagel shop, falafel stand, coffee shop. They passed a Whole Foods, and Armie asked, “Is this the nearest place to buy groceries?"

Timmy gave Armie a look like he had grown three heads, but then nodded. “I guess? I don’t do a lot of grocery shopping. Oh, but this place has the best Bahn Mi!” He tugged at the sleeve of Armie’s shirt and pointed at the Vietnamese place they were passing. Armie chuckled, remembering that Tim was somewhat younger than him. 

“How about a drug store? Where is the closest?” he asked.

Timmy laughed. “There are like ten Duane Reeds within a mile of our apartment.” Armie gave him a skeptical look. “There are!” Timmy insisted.

The boys kept walking, Timmy pointing out the library, his old elementary school, his favorite book store, and the best local bodega. Armie gave him one of his trademark smiles. 

“You’re an excellent tour guide.” He looked at his watch. “Hey, it’s almost Happy Hour. Any good place we can go around here to get a drink?”

Timmy shoved his hands in his pocket and shifted uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t know. I’m only 17…” 

He glanced up at Armie, and could have sworn he saw a brief cloud pass over his face, but in a moment, it was gone. Armie suddenly smirked. 

“That’s fine. I’ll buy you a Shirley Temple.”

Timmy punched his arm. “Fuck you. I don’t want a fucking Shirley Temple. You can buy me a cream soda.”

Armie grinned, and followed Timmy to a bar and grill on the same block. They sat on the outside patio where they ordered drinks and a few flatbread pizzas to share. When Armie’s beer arrived, he took a big sip, then sat back in his seat and gave a contented sigh.

“This is great. You’re so lucky to live here, Tim.”

Timmy laughed. “It’s not always like this. Just wait- in a few weeks, it will be 90 degrees, humid and miserable. You’ll be wishing you were back in California!” He paused and stole a glance at Armie, not sure how much he should pry into Armie’s life. “So, do you live near the beach in Los Angeles?” 

Armie took another long swallow of his beer then shook his head. “Nope. There is no way I could afford that. I have a studio in Hollywood that I struggle to afford some months.”

Timmy nodded slowly. The world of having to afford rent was a mystery to him. He found it hard to believe that someone who looked like Armie would be struggling in Hollywood. “Have you worked a lot?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t a rude question.

Armie shrugged. “A bit. I’ve done some modeling and a few commercials. I’ve had some small parts on a few t.v. shows and movies, but usually my characters have names like ‘Boy Number 2’ or ‘Man in Suit.’" Timmy laughed at that. “I’m still waiting for my big breakthrough role. And I’m interested in doing more stage work, which is why I’m here.”

“You’re going to be famous someday, I bet. I mean, you’re so good-looking,” Timmy blurted, and then immediately looked mortified at what he had said. He continued talking to distract from he had just observed. “So, you said that you did some theater in high school? What productions were you in?” 

Armie shifted in his seat uncomfortably at this question. “I didn't do a lot, actually. I had a small part in a production of Hamlet. I don’t sing, so I was never in musicals.” He glanced at Timmy. “To be honest, I dropped out of high school at 16 to be an actor. It might not have been the best decision. I had dreams of breaking out before the age of 20, and being a movie star by 21. It didn’t really turn out that way.”

Timmy wasn’t sure what to say to that. He wanted to comfort Armie, and tell him that he was going to be a huge star, but of course he didn’t know that. Armie seemed to sense his discomfort and changed the subject.

“So, how about you? Sounds like you’re the star of your school.”

Timmy groaned. “Oh man, you can’t listen to my parents. They think I’m the next Marlon Brando. But, like you said, it’s just high school theater. It doesn’t really count.”

Armie looked abashed. “I shouldn’t have said that. Stage experience is stage experience. And I bet you’re working with pros at your school. That’s the school that Al Pacino went to, right? You could probably teach me a thing or two.” He gave Timmy a smile that looked sincere, almost fond.

Timmy nodded eagerly. He loved to talk about his acting. “I have an amazing acting teacher there. He really encourages us to let down our emotional walls, and show more by saying less. He’s really brilliant.”

Armie looked impressed. “Really? I’d actually love to learn more about that.”

Timmy opened his mouth to respond, when suddenly his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at it, then frowned. “I better take it. It’s my girlfriend, Lourdes.”

He glanced at Armie, curious to see how he would react to that news, but Armie had turned away, suddenly very interested in the artwork on the walls. Timmy took the call, and told his girlfriend that he was eating and would call her later. He was off the phone quickly, but he sensed that the mood between him and Armie had changed, somehow. 

Armie asked the waitress, a very pretty Latina girl, for the check. She seemed taken with Armie (as, Timmy guessed, most females probably were) and had been low-key flirting with him for the last hour. Armie had been polite, but hadn’t shown any signs of interest. However, when she came to take Armie’s credit card, he flashed her a brilliant smile, and said, “Thanks, beautiful.” The waitress stammered with the attention; Timmy rolled his eyes. 

They headed back to Timmy’s house; an awkward silence had fallen between them. As they waited for the elevator in Timmy’s building, Armie turned to Timmy. 

“Hey, thanks for the tour, Tim. I really appreciate it.” 

Timmy gave a shrug. “No big deal.” 

They rode the elevator in silence. Timmy sensed something had changed between them, but he didn’t know what it was, or why it had changed. Once they were back in the apartment, they both retreated to their bedrooms for the rest of the afternoon.


	3. Mortification and Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy finds himself growing fonder of Armie...
> 
> Nicole is giving me Annella vibes in this chapter :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to thecosmicfragments for reading over my first draft and offering invaluable edits and suggestions, and making sure I don't keep calling Armie Oliver ;)
> 
> And thank you to everyone who has given kudos and comments. As always, they are so, so, so appreciated!

Mortification and Aftermath

6/30- 7/1/2019

Timmy hung out in his room until his mom called him for dinner, and when he entered the kitchen, he immediately noticed that the table was set only for 3. His mom explained that Armie was meeting up with the other actors in his program that night for dinner. Timmy’s face dropped with disappointment; Nicole immediately added, “He felt bad leaving and promised that he would be here tomorrow night for dinner.”

Timmy chastised himself for feeling put-out at Armie’s absence. But he did feel badly that, after such an easy and enjoyable afternoon together, they parted ways with some lingering awkwardness. 

Nicole asked about their afternoon together. “He seems quite friendly. Was he easy to spend time with? Not like Rodney from two summers ago. Remember him? We don’t want a repeat of THAT!” 

All three Chalamets laughed fondly at the memory of poor Rodney, who had been so shy that, when not working at the theater, had barely left his room all summer. 

“No, no. He wasn’t like that at all. He was cool; really nice. I like him a lot.” Timmy thought about their afternoon and smiled to himself. His parents exchanged a knowing look.

“Well, good. I think he’ll work out fine,” Marc chimed in.

Timmy helped his parents clean up after dinner, and then went to his room to read. He tried to focus on his book, but he felt on high-alert, listening for Armie to come home. At every noise in the hallway, he stilled his body and listened carefully. Finally, at midnight, he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and drifted into a fitful sleep.

\-------------------------------------------- 

Timmy woke the next morning, and trudged, blurry eyed, out to the kitchen. His parents were already at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. 

“Morning,” he muttered. “Armie isn’t up yet? I think he got in late last night.” Timmy poured himself a cup of coffee and took a long sip.

“He did,” Nicole answered, “I think it was after one when finally he got in. I’m glad I gave him a key. But I have to give him credit- even with his late night, he was up and out of here this morning before 8.”

Timmy felt his stomach sink with disappointment, yet again. “Oh. So he’s gone already?”

Nicole stood up and gave him peck on the cheek. “He said he’ll be back for dinner.”

Timmy peeled a banana, ate it quickly, and then returned to his room. He had play practice that afternoon, but was free for the rest of the morning. He heard his parents call goodbye to him from the front door as they left for work for the day. Timmy thought for a moment about what to do with his time, when an idea came to him.

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand, turned it on, and opened the Google app. After a very brief hesitation, he typed in Armie’s name into the search box. His IMDB page came up, as well as his Instagram account and a few YouTube videos. Timmy felt his heart give a sharp flutter as he opened the first YouTube video. It seemed to be some sort of modeling shoot, with a female model. The female model talked about being sensual, and then in the next scene, she was on a counter with Armie between her legs, nuzzling at her neck. He had on a white dress shirt, unbuttoned to his chest.

Timmy swallowed. Wow, Armie looked so good. He oozed pure sex, and seemed so different than the man that Timmy had walked around with yesterday, who had been wearing flip-flops, shorts and a Polo shirt. In the next scene, the director told Armie to take off his shirt. So… he did. And he nuzzled the model some more. Shirtless.

Timmy suddenly became very aware of his growing hard-on. He palmed his throbbing cock to try and relieve some of the pressure, but that had just made his need more insistent. 

Timmy took a deep breath and considered his situation. He had the apartment to himself. He was well-aware that he really shouldn’t be wanking off to videos of their summer house guest that he had only met once, but….he realized that his hard-on was NOT going away without some assistance. 

Timmy propped himself up on a pile of bed pillows. He still had on just a t-shirt and his pajama bottoms, so he was able to easily slide down his pajama pants and boxers past his hips, all the way to his knees. He rucked up his t-shirt, gave his palm a long lick for lubrication, then restarted the video. When Armie came on the screen, he grasped his cock hard and gave it a slow pull. Ugh, that felt so good. It had been awhile since Timmy had jacked-off, and even longer since he’d had sex, and he felt like he might explode. On-screen Armie took off his shirt, and Timmy’s hand picked up the pace, pumping his dick faster and faster... 

Suddenly, Timmy heard the front door open and slam shut. He bolted up right, then yanked his pants back up around his waist. His heart was pounding out of his chest and his breathing was ragged. He stilled and tried to listen. 

He heard Armie’s voice calling through the house, “Hello! Anyone home? Tim?”

And then- Knock! Knock! Knock! on Timmy’s door. “Tim? You in there?”

Timmy’s brain cried ‘FUUUCKKKK!’

He took a deep breath to get a grip on himself. He cleared his throat and tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible. “Yeah? Come in?”

Suddenly, the real Armie was in his room, standing over his bed, looking tall, gorgeous and three-dimensional. He walked in and eyed Timmy with surprise. “Did I wake you? I’m so sorry….” 

He suddenly stopped speaking, his eyes on something on Timmy’s bed. Timmy looked down with a growing sense of dread. There, open on his phone, was the video of the model and Armie with his shirt off. Timmy snatched it and quickly turned his phone off.

“No, no. I’m awake. I was just about to get in the shower and then go to play practice.” Clutching his phone, he flew out of his room to the safety of the bathroom. He locked the door behind him, turned on the shower as hot as he could stand it, got in, and silently screamed. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Timmy took a long shower, and then took his time toweling off. By the time he was done, almost an hour later, the apartment was quiet. He opened the bathroom door slowly and listened….it seemed that Armie had left already. He sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure what Armie saw, or what Armie THOUGHT he saw on Timmy’s phone, but Timmy wasn’t ready to face him again just yet. Thankfully, Timmy had play practice that afternoon to distract him from his mortification and put him in a better headspace. 

Timmy returned home that night right before dinner to voices in the kitchen. He first heard Armie’s deep baritone, followed by his mother’s tinkling laughter. He walked into the apartment, trying to shut the door quietly so as not to attract attention to himself. His mother’s voice carried from the kitchen. “Timmy, is that you? We’re in the kitchen!” 

Timmy walked on reluctant feet to the kitchen, then stood in the doorway with a closed-lip smile. “There you are!” Nicole had a glass of wine in her hands, and appeared to be in a jovial mood. “How was your day, sweetie?” 

Timmy kept his eyes on his mom, too embarrassed to look at Armie. He gave a small shrug. “It was good. You know. We worked a lot on the bathtub scene.”

Armie suddenly interjected. “I’m so impressed that your school is putting on a production of Streetcar. I’ll be interested to see your take on Stanley Kowalski.” 

Armie was looking right at Timmy, holding a glass of wine, with a friendly smile on his face. Timmy didn’t sense anything hidden or awkward in his expression. He allowed himself a drop of hope that maybe Armie hadn’t really seen or processed what was on Timmy’s phone earlier that day. Timmy grinned back, unable to stop himself from feeling pleased that Armie was showing so much interest in him.

“Yeah, I got some flack from some of the other kids who think that I’m not right for the part. But that just makes me try harder. I don’t mind the challenge.”

Armie nodded. “That’s a great attitude. Fuck them.” He gave a wink. 

Nicole giggled and poured herself some more wine. “You’re going to be so great, sweetie. Now go get ready for dinner. We’re eating soon.” She walked over to give Timmy a peck on the cheek, then gave him a tiny push out the door. “Five minutes!” she called, as he walked to his room.

It was just the three of them for dinner, and any tension between Armie and Timmy seemed to have dissipated. The conversation flowed easily. Armie told Nicole and Timmy about growing up in the Cayman Islands. Timmy listened, enraptured. Everything about Armie was so interesting; Timmy couldn’t help but feel like such a boring kid next to him. But Armie always included him in the conversation, asking him questions, calling him ‘Tim,' which Timmy loved. He seemed genuinely interested in whatever Timmy had to contribute as they spoke. Timmy found himself participating in the conversation more than he normally would at dinner, and his chest swelled every time had made Armie laugh. The mortifying situation from that morning appeared to be forgotten.

After dinner, Nicole suggested they watch a movie. The Chalamets had a small living room, with just one overstuffed chair and a couch. Nicole took the chair, and the boys shared the couch. Nicole let Armie pick the movie, and they hunkered down to watch his choice, Midnight Cowboy, which Timmy had never seen. 

Timmy and Armie sat on opposite sides of the couch, facing the television. As the night went by, Timmy started feeling sleepy, so he put his feet up on the couch and scooted down, so he was almost lying sideways. His feet were just a few inches from Armie’s hips and thighs. Timmy watched the movie with only half his mind, the other half too intensely aware of his proximity to Armie to really focus on what was on the screen. Armie suddenly shifted in his seat, and his hand, which had previously been settled on his lap, was moved next to his hip, resting on the couch cushion right next to Timmy’s feet. Armie shifted again, just slightly, and then his hand was…just barely…touching Timmy’s bare foot. 

Timmy stilled. Did Armie realize that he was touching Timmy? Timmy stole the tiniest glance at Armie, but he was looking straight ahead at the screen, seemingly oblivious to the touch. Timmy’s entire body, on the other hand, was both frozen and on fire with awareness of the feather-light contact between their two body parts. 

Timmy gave up entirely on watching the movie, and just lay there, enjoying the presence of Armie’s hand close to him. It never moved from its post touching Timmy’s foot for the rest of the movie, another 30 minutes or so. Timmy resisted the urge to press his foot firmer into Armie’s hand, to communicate that he knew it was there, and that he was okay with it. That he LIKED it. But if Armie hadn’t put his hand there intentionally, the last thing he wanted to do was risk scaring Armie away. So he instead reveled in the tiny patch of skin that touched his own.

The movie ended, and Armie stood up, said good night and went to his room, as though nothing unusual had happened at all. Timmy’s dad came home soon after the movie ended, and as his parent retreated to their own room, Timmy was left to ponder what had happened. Did he imagine it? Did Armie not realize? Was it not a big deal…was Timmy making something out of absolutely nothing? Or was Armie seeking physical contact with him? And if he was…why? Timmy grabbed a throw pillow from the couch, put it over his face, and groaned. He really needed to finish what he had started in his room this morning. He was thinking with the wrong part of his body, and he was having trouble thinking of anything but Armie.

He went to his room to rub away thoughts of Armie. He shut the door of his bedroom, and locked it for good measure.


	4. A Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie's POV, then Timmy's. Try as he might to push it away, Armie's interest in Timmy is growing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope I do Armie's POV justice! A HUGE thank you, as always, to thecosmicfragments, for all of your edits and input. I think I'm becoming a little co-dependent ;) And yes, Timmy only has TWO hands!
> 
> And to my readers, thank you for all your comments and kudos! This fic has been harder to write than my last three, and the support keeps me going xoxoxox

A Realization

7/2-7/5/2019

Armie

Armie sat on the stage with the other actors, listening to the head of his program give instructions for their daily warm-up exercise. He looked around at the other participants, and thought again about how fortunate he was to have been chosen for this opportunity. In three days, he would be given the name of the off-Broadway play in which he would actually have a small part. The actors were to be given four weeks to prepare for a role, and then would take on that role in the production for one week. It was an invaluable experience for someone like Armie, who had been on-stage so few times in his career.

It has only been a few days since he had arrived in Manhattan, but Armie already felt at-ease in his new city. He loved everything about New York. He felt exhilarated by the bustle and pace of daily life here. He was impressed by the focus and professionalism of the other actors. He was amazed by the density and diversity of culture. Los Angeles was so sprawling that one sometimes had to drive an hour or more to go to a play or eat at a specific ethnic restaurant. But in New York, every block contained the world.

Adding to his positive experience was the incredible host family he had come to live with. Nicole and Marc were open and warm, and had immediately made Armie feel like part of their family. There had never been any moments of awkwardness as they got to know each other. Armie enjoyed the robust discussions they had about politics, the arts, and life, and he always felt comfortable joining in.

And then there was Tim. Tim had been a surprise, one that Armie was still adjusting to. The summary he had been given before he arrived about his host family mentioned that they had an “adult son” (age not specified). That information hadn’t registered as important to Armie at the time. And then Armie’s first impression of Tim had been something akin to “obnoxious son, home from college.” But when Tim took Armie around the neighborhood showing him all his favorite spots, alternating between boyish enthusiasm and shocking eloquence in his observations, Armie became intrigued, then enchanted by his guilelessness, his obvious intelligence, and his innate sweetness.

When Tim spoke, Armie couldn’t look away.

Armie had already started chastising himself about his burgeoning interest in the host family’s son (too many possible complications involved with that) when Tim admitted that he was only 17. At that moment, Armie knew that he needed to immediately shut down any feelings of attraction towards Tim that were starting to bloom inside of him. 17 was far, far too young for 24-year old Armie.

It had seemed an easy thing to do, except that he was starting to feel waves of reciprocated attraction from Tim: furtive stares when he thought that Armie wasn’t looking; coincidentally being in the hallway whenever Armie came out of the bathroom; laughing a little too loudly at any dumb joke that Armie attempted. He was aware that Tim had a girlfriend, but he had yet to see any evidence of her existence in Tim's life.

And then there was the morning that Armie came home unexpectantly and knocked on Tim’s door. It had been obvious what Tim had been up to- his face was flushed and he was slightly out of breath. And on his phone…Armie couldn’t be sure… he wasn’t sure AT ALL…but it looked like the screen was paused on a video of one of Armie’s old modeling shoots.

Huh…

It had all led to an intense internal tug-of-war within himself. He was drawn- physically, emotionally, and intellectually- to Tim, but he would always force himself to retreat when he got too close. 

Luckily, the boys were on different schedules, limiting Armie’s exposure to Tim. He had his workshop every morning, and afterwards, he would often meet up with the other actors for drinks and sometimes grab a bite to eat. Tim usually slept in, then went to his own theater practice in the afternoon, then was home by dinner. This was good, Armie decided. He needed as much help from the universe as possible in staying away from the boy.

Armie sighed, shaking away his thoughts of Tim (something he found himself doing several times a day), and refocused on his acting. He felt fortunate to have something that he loved with which to distract himself from Tim.

The week went by with Armie having blessedly little contact with Tim. Friday came, the day that the actors were to receive their roles. Armie was chosen for the role of Spike in the play _Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike._ Armie was unfamiliar with the play, and found a description of the character of Spike to familiarize himself with the part: Masha’s much younger, gorgeous, dimwitted lover. Armie chuckled at the description; not a huge stretch for him, but a fun part, nonetheless. After getting their scripts, the actors were free to go for the day, and they made plans to meet later for dinner.

Armie left the theater and wandered down 57th, lifting his head to the sky to feel the sun against his face. It was still early in the afternoon and he had several hours to kill. He looked around, and realized that he was just a few blocks from Tim’s school. It hit him that what he really wanted to do was go see Tim at his play rehearsal. He was really curious to see Tim in his element, maybe even get to watch him on stage for a bit.

Armie decided to ignore the voice in his head that was nagging him that perhaps this wasn’t a great idea. “ _Maybe Tim wouldn’t appreciate you showing up, unannounced? And aren’t you supposed to be staying away from him_?” it pestered him.

“Whatever. Fuck you,” Armie replied irritably to the responsible, reasonable voice, and continued to disregard its concerns

He got to the school in minutes, showed his I.D. to the security guard, and asked for directions to the auditorium, which was down a long hallway. He paused when he got to the large double doors, beginning to doubt the wisdom of his impulsive idea. But then Tim’s voice echoed through the thick doors, confident and clear, pulling Armie through the entry into the theater space.

Armie paused in the shadows near the rear of the auditorium, mesmerized by the dialogue coming from Tim. At least, he looked like Tim, and yet he wasn’t. He so definitively embodied the spirit of Stanley Kowalski that every ounce of awkward 17-year-old boy had been swallowed whole by the anger and swagger of this character. He paced the stage like a lion trapped in a cage. His presence was large and dominating, despite Tim’s actual fairly slight frame.

Armie was in awe of Tim’s raw talent on display on this high school stage. He was a thing of beauty, and Armie was captivated. Tim was the sun, and Armie just wanted to stay and bask in his light.

Tim finished his dialogue, and stood still for a moment, as if recovering from the intensity of his speech. He suddenly looked out into the auditorium, sensing the presence of someone new in the room. He cast his eyes about the large space, until they found Armie. Their eyes locked, and the two stood, connected, for several long moments. Armie immediately felt overwhelmed with affection and attraction towards the boy. It was a feeling that was akin to drowning, taking his breath away, forcing him to gulp for air and try to find some sort of equilibrium. He breathed deeply, then forced a smile on his face, finding his voice, shocked that he was able to speak with any sort of normalcy. “Tim, that…that was amazing!”

Timmy

Timmy woke late Tuesday morning, groggily revisiting the dream he had just been having. He couldn’t recall the details, but it definitely involved Armie and copious amounts of making-out. He pressed down on his morning wood with one hand, and stretched out the last of his sleep with the other arm, arching his back. As he stretched, he noticed that he had a missed text on his phone. 

He grabbed his phone, turned it on, and glanced at his messages. Fuck, there was a missed text from Lourdes; he had never called her back the other day. Luckily, she was a super chill girlfriend- never clingy or needy- but even she had her limits when it came to Timmy’s forgetfulness. He had to admit, he never really prioritized Lola or their relationship. He enjoyed her company and liked her a lot as a person, but, to be honest, he didn’t appreciate her the way a boyfriend should. His feelings had never progressed past those of a platonic friend.

Timmy gave a small moan, pissed at himself for the oversight. “ _Dude, you need to break up with her_ ,” he thought, for the 100th time. It just wasn’t fair of him to stay with her when that was how he felt. He seriously needed to grow a pair.

Timmy sighed and rolled onto his stomach. Well, at least that took care of his morning hard-on. He dragged himself out of bed to the bathroom to take a piss. As usual this summer, he had the house to himself for much of the day. He strolled through the empty apartment in his boxers, checking his social media, text messages, and email. There was coffee made, so he poured himself a mug, then headed back to his room.

He sent Lola a quick text- ‘Lola, I am SO SO SO sorry. Been really busy. Want to grab dinner this week?’ Maybe this week he would actually break up with her…

He got a quick text back from her- ‘Sure. How’s Friday? DiMarco’s at 8?’ Timmy sent back a thumbs up, surprised that she wasn’t angrier with him. He would have understood, maybe even been a little relieved, if she had been madder. Her forgiving nature just fueled his guilt. He didn't deserve her.

The week went by quickly for Timmy, but he was disappointed that he saw so little of Armie. Most nights, he didn’t get back to the Chalamets until after dinner. He would stop to chat with the family, then head to bed. Timmy tried to contrive of ways to run into him and start a conversation:

In the hallway-

“Oh hey, Armie. Did you just get home? How was your workshop?”

“Great, great. Night, Tim.”

In the bathroom-

“Hey, Armie, do you mind if I come in and brush my teeth? I’m so tired…”  


“Not at all. I was just going to bed. Night, Tim.”

Out on the balcony-

“Wow, it’s such as nice night. Can I have a smoke and hang for a bit?”

“Not at all; but I was just about to go in. Night, Tim.”

And so on. If Tim was the suspicious type, he might have thought that Armie was avoiding him…

By Friday, Timmy was getting frustrated by the situation. Maybe he should come right out and ASK Armie if he was avoiding him? On the other hand, fuck him. If Armie was avoiding him, then he didn’t need that kind of bullshit in his life. But back to the original hand….Tim couldn’t stop thinking about him and goddamn it if it wasn’t killing him slowly. He went to rehearsal Friday afternoon, conflicted and confused.

His theater group was just a week away from their performance, and rehearsals were getting intense. Timmy had only three days of practice and a dress rehearsal before they went before an audience. When it was time for one of his final, big scenes, he threw himself into his monologue, shutting out everything but Stanley Kowalski, and his anger and pain. He delivered his lines with so much conviction and emotion that when he was done, he felt depleted.

Timmy stood on the stage for a moment, catching his breath, when something made him look up and out into the depths of the auditorium. And there he was: Armie, watching Timmy with a look of such naked adoration and wonder, Timmy felt it radiate through him like an actual, physical thing. He was confused by the intensity of Armie's stare. He felt something pass between them that was unknown, but significant. Timmy was bound to the spot, unable to move or speak, until Armie found his voice, calling to Timmy, “That…that was amazing, Tim!”

The sound of Armie’s voice released Tim from his reverie. Elation at Armie’s presence at his school, at his REHEARSAL, welled up in his chest, threatening to burst forth in joyful bubbles. He jumped down from the stage.

“Armie! What are you doing here?” They met halfway down the aisle, each sporting a happy grin that neither was capable of hiding at the moment.

“We got out early today, so I kind of impulsively decided to come see your practice. I’m so glad I did. Wow, Tim…you killed it. I mean, I’m really blown away.” Armie shook his head, still in disbelief at how good Tim was.

Tim shrugged modestly, but he couldn’t stop the huge smile from widening on his face. “Thanks. It was just rehearsal. I still have a lot of work to do.”

Armie shook his head and nudged Tim’s shoulder with his own. “Don’t be modest. You are really fucking talented. You should come and teach one of my workshops”

Tim laughed and punched his arm. “Stop! Now you’re just blowing smoke up my ass!” 

Armie laughed with him. “Alright, alright. Listen, I don’t to interrupt anymore of your rehearsal. I’ll see you back at the apartment tonight.”

Timmy realized that he was indeed holding up their practice, so he reluctantly thanked Armie for stopping by and said goodbye. The happy surprise of his visit warmed Timmy for the rest of the afternoon.

Rehearsal ran late that day, and as the actors were packing up, Timmy realized with disappointment that he wouldn’t have time to go home before meeting Lola for dinner. He was counting the hours until he could see Armie again. As he approached the pizzeria, and saw Lola there waiting for him, the intensity with which he wished she were Armie was so strong, it almost took his breath away. He greeted her with a small peck on the cheek. He had made the decision on the walk over that he would finally break it off with her over dinner. Dread and guilt washed over him like a tidal wave as she gave him a sweet, unsuspecting smile.

The waiter walked them to the rear of the restaurant, stopping at a table next to large, raucous group.

‘ _Oh no,_ ” Tim thought, ‘ _This will not do_.’

He was about to ask the waiter for a quieter table near the front of the restaurant, when a voice coming from the party at the next table called his name. Timmy turned to find the origin of the voice, and came to face-to-face with grinning Armie.

“Tim! What are you doing…” Armie’s eyes landed on Lola. He paused, and gave a small, polite smile. “Hi…you must be Tim’s girlfriend? I’m Armie.” Armie’s tone changed subtly, from excited and warm, to polite and formal.

Timmy stiffened with disappointment. Armie was going to get the wrong idea! Well, it was actually the right idea, but it was NOT the idea that Timmy wanted Armie to have about him.

“Armie, this is Lola, my…my girlfriend.” It hurt him to say it to Armie, but with Lola looking at him expectantly, he had no choice. “We just came for dinner, but I think we’re going to move to a table in the front. It’s a little loud back here…”

Armie widened his fake smile. “Nonsense, Tim. We have room at our table. Join us, please?” He looked Timmy in the eye, and Timmy knew that he had no choice.

“Sure, sounds fun.” Armie pulled up two chairs for Tim and Lola, and introduced them around to the other actors. Tim poured himself and Lola beers from the table’s pitcher, sighed, and begrudgingly settled in for the night. The break-up would have to wait...


	5. Chance Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy and Armie inch their way towards each other, with two steps forward and one step back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to ashleymoshow for helping me with edits! And, as always, thank you for any comments and Kudos. They give me LIFE!

Chapter 5

Chance Encounters

7/5/2019 

Timmy

The large, loud group sitting at three connected tables took up most of DiMarco’s back room. Timmy and Lola sat at one end; Armie was seated across from them, and next to him was an attractive, bubbly dark-haired woman. Eight other men and women joined then at the other tables. Timmy and Lola ordered their pizza, then the pretty brunette turned to Timmy with a smile.

“So Tim, you’re the son of Armie’s host family? Tell me- is he as bossy at home as he is during our workshops?” She giggled and tousled Armie’s hair. Armie rolled his eyes. 

“I am not bossy. I just like things done RIGHT, Prema.” He smirked, and didn’t seem to mind the attention he was receiving from the girl, which did not escape Timmy’s notice.

Timmy gave a small shrug. “He’s hardly ever there, so I wouldn’t know,” Timmy replied sullenly, looking right at Armie. Lola turned and gave him a strange look. Tim snaked his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. If Armie can be all chummy with this Prema girl, then the least he could do was give some attention to Lola. “Where are you from, Prema?”

She smiled. “I’m from a small town outside of San Diego called Spring Valley. Us west coaster have to stick together; right, Armie?” She gave Armie another sweet smile, which he returned with a wink. “It’s been a big change, living in New York this week. Everything is so fast-paced and crowded. You grew up here, right?’

“Yup, New York, born and raised. Lola, too,” he added. Lola beamed at being included.

“We grew up just a few blocks from each other, but we didn’t meet until high school,” she interjected.

“Aw! You’re so lucky you found each other!” Prema gushed.

Armie had been watching the conversation silently, but he suddenly chimed in, “So, how long have you and Tim been dating, Lola?” 

“It will be a year this August? Right, Timmy?” She turned to Timmy and snuggled closer into his arm. Timmy shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, I guess that’s right,” he replied, noncommittally. He avoided Armie’s eyes, burning through him for the entire exchange.

Prema clapped her hands together. “That is so sweet! Your one year anniversary!” She turned to Armie. “Isn’t that sweet??”

Armie cleared his throat, uncomfortably, and gave a tight smile. “Yeah. Real sweet.”

Lola was telling Prema the story of how they met when Timmy and Lola’s pizza arrived. Timmy had never been so happy to see a waiter in his life. He tucked into his pizza, and inhaled three slices like a starving man. He finished his last piece, leaned over to Lola, still on her first piece, and whispered in her ear. “Are you almost done? I am so fucking tired. I need to get home to my bed.” 

He glanced over at Armie, who had again been watching Timmy. Armie looked away as soon as their eyes met, and he leaned down to murmur something into Prema’s ear. She giggled, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Timmy’s stomach lurched with jealousy. He stood up, throwing a few tens onto the table.

“Nice meeting everyone. I’m beat, so Lola and I are taking off,” he said to the table. Lola stood up next to him, irritation clear on her face. He turned to Armie. “See you back at the apartment.” 

Their eyes met for a moment, the disappointment at the night’s events in Timmy’s eyes were mirrored in Armie’s. Armie gave a quick nod. “Sure. See you there.” 

Outside the restaurant, Lola spun to look at Timmy with an accusing eye. “What was going on in there? You insist that we sit with Armie and his friends, and then you barely talk. The pizza comes and you scarf it down like you haven’t eaten in days, then you drag me out of the restaurant before I’m even done eating! What the fuck, Timmy?” 

Timmy sighed. He didn’t have it in him to have a fight with Lola tonight. Seeing Prema flirt with Armie for the last hour had been upsetting and exhausting enough. 

“I’m sorry, Lo. It’s just been such a long week at rehearsal. I’m more tired than I thought I’d be. Can we just call it a night and talk tomorrow?” He looked at her with pleading eyes. Lola softened; she had no armor against Timmy’s puppy-dog eyes.

“Ok, fine. It was just weird, but whatever. Call me tomorrow.” She reached over for a kiss, and Timmy reciprocated with a short peck, hitting mostly air. 

“I will. I promise.” He kept watch of her as she walked down the avenue, until she disappeared into the crowd of people. It was only 9pm, and the sidewalks were still busy. Timmy leaned against the side of the building and lit a cigarette, relieved to be alone. 

Timmy wandered into the night, smoking and thinking about the unfortunate turn the night had taken. His elation at Armie turning up at his rehearsal felt like days ago. He wondered if he had imagined the affection on Armie’s face earlier that day. He certainly seemed more interested in Prema at dinner than in Timmy. He threw down his cigarette and stubbed it out with his toe, disgusted with himself for making something out of nothing. He knew he had a crush on Armie, but he decided right then that he needed to push that aside and move on. It was obvious tonight that his feelings weren’t reciprocated. He walked back to his apartment, bitter. 

Back at the apartment, Timmy quickly changed into a t-shirt and sleep pants, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He heard the front door open and close, then Armie’s footsteps in the hallway. He froze, the toothbrush still in his mouth, listening for the sound of Armie’s bedroom door opening. Instead, there were three soft taps on the bathroom door, startling Timmy. He opened the door to find Armie’s 6’5” form filling the frame. 

“Do you mind if I come in and brush my teeth?” Armie asked.

Timmy tried to read the expression on his face. Shy? Tired? Disinterested? He opened the door wider to let him in. The two men filled the entire bathroom; there was little space between them. Timmy spit out his toothpaste, rinsed his mouth and was about to leave when Armie turned to him.

“So, Lola seems nice. Almost a year, huh? Good for you guys.” Timmy shrugged in response. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to Armie about Lola.

“Yeah, she’s a good girl.” He felt Armie’s gaze on him, but he couldn’t respond, and instead looked at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. He didn’t think he could handle those blue eyes right now. 

“Prema seems nice, too. Are you two, like, dating?” Timmy asked, trying not to sound petty or spiteful, and not really wanting to know the answer. He ventured a glance at Armie, who shook his head and laughed. 

“Dating? No, I am definitely NOT dating Prema. I mean, she is sweet and pretty, but I’m not interested.”

Timmy stood quietly, not sure what to say next. Armie was still looking at him, almost expectantly, with that same look he’d had in his eyes earlier that day. Maybe Timmy hadn’t imagined it? Emboldened by Armie’s expression, Timmy suddenly blurted out, “I was going to break -up with Lola tonight.” 

Armie took a step back and scrutinized Timmy. “You were? But you didn’t…did you not because you ran into us? Tim, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans.”

Timmy replied with a soft smile. “It’s ok. I probably would have chickened out anyway.”

Armie chuckled. “I know how hard it can be to break up with someone. But why? She seems like a nice girl. And she obviously she really likes you….” 

Timmy huffed a silent laugh. “I guess. I’ve just never felt anything more than friendship towards her. And now…” He took a step closer to Armie, now so near to him that he could the warmth radiating off of Armie’s body. “There’s someone else that I like.” 

Timmy swallowed hard. There; he’d said it. 

Their eyes were locked, and Armie nodded slowly, as if absorbing this information, his face a jumble of conflicting emotions. Now that Timmy had admitted how he felt, he became more confident. He took one last small step to Armie, closing the space between them. Their torsos were almost touching, and if Timmy leaned in, even an inch, his head would graze Armie’s chin. Armie looked almost pained at this turn of events; he nervously licked his lips but didn’t pull away. 

“I like YOU, Armie,” Timmy said softly, keeping his eyes on Armie. Armie breathed a deep sigh, as if finally giving in to whatever hesitations he had been harboring. He leaned towards Timmy, almost imperceptibly; as if led by an invisible string giving the slightest tug. 

He shook his head and mumbled, “Tim, we shouldn’t…” But his actions contradicted his words when he suddenly pressed his lips against Timmy’s, delivering the softest, sweetest kiss Timmy had ever received. The contact lasted less than a second, but it was like a lighting strike to Timmy’s heart. His breathe stuttered as Armie pulled back.

The boys blinked at each other, recovering from the brief but seismic kiss. Timmy opened his mouth to speak, but Armie reached out, took Timmy’s hand in his own and gave a squeeze, and said, “Good night, Tim,” and then was gone. 

Timmy leaned against the bathroom sink, willing his heart to steady. His knees felt weak and his blood was hot. What the hell had just happened? And who the fuck did Armie think he was, kissing and running like that??? Timmy’s mind was muddled and his body was a quivering mess, but he knew one thing. This thing was not over tonight. 

Armie

Armie exited the bathroom quickly, before any further mistakes were made. His body was screaming for him to take Tim in his arms and sweep him into the kiss of a lifetime. But his brain scolded him, reminding him of what a mistake that would be. He hurried into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Despite his quick retreat, both his instincts and what he knew about Tim told him that this wasn’t over. He waited with an equal mix of anticipation and dread for what would come next.

Sure enough, less than a minute later, two sharp knocks sounded on his door. Armie opened the door and gazed at Tim with raised eyebrows. Armie wasn’t going to make this easy on him.

“You don’t get to do that and just leave,” Tim growled, and crashed his mouth into Armie’s. It was an angry, almost violent kiss, and Armie took a step back in surprise, momentarily breaking contact with Tim’s lips. He looked down at Tim, his face flushed and desperate. Armie’s heart felt hopelessly pulled towards this beautiful, bold boy standing in front of him. 

“Fuck. You’re right,” he whispered. He leaned down, and then slowly, gently, weaved a hand around Tim’s neck, and pressed their lips into a proper kiss. He felt Tim melt into him, and he wrapped his other arm tight around his torso, until they were flush against each other. Tim opened his mouth to deepen the kiss; his tongue pushing past Armie’s lips to explore. Armie moaned and relented, answering Tim’s roving tongue with his own; relishing the taste and feel of Tim. He allowed himself this indulgence, surrendering to his innermost, hidden fantasies of having Tim. But after several minutes, his lust and want finally gave way to concern at the reality of their situation. He reluctantly pulled away from Tim’s soft, giving lips. Tim opened his eyes, giving Armie a look of confusion and heartbreak.

“What’s wrong?” he stammered, and tried to pull Armie back into a kiss.

Armie kept his arms around Tim, but resisted his lips. “Tim, we…we have to stop. I’m your guest. And you’re 17. We shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be doing this…”

Tim shook his head furiously. “It’s ok, Armie. My parents won’t care. I swear. Please.” His eyes pleaded with Armie, but Armie had made up his mind, and extricated himself from Tim’s arms. 

“I’m so sorry, Tim. Trust me, I don’t want to stop.” He looked into Tim’s sea green eyes, hoping that Tim believed his words. “I really, REALLY don’t want to stop. But you have to go.” 

Armie kissed the top of Tim’s head to soften the blow of his words. Tim nodded, turned and reluctantly retreated from Armie’s room. Armie heard the click of Tim’s door closing, and exhaled a sad sigh of relief. 

He crawled into bed, filled with self-loathing. He just didn’t know why he hated himself more: for kissing Tim in the first place, or for putting an end to it.


	6. Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie makes plans, then breaks them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter has been an excruciating labor of love. It was written on vacation at my parents' house, on my Ipad, and took me FOREVER. It hasn't been beta'ed, so hopefully it makes sense. :0)
> 
> Also, I’ve changed my author name to DontSqueezeTheCharmie 😁
> 
> Thank you all for your patience! And, as always, thank you for your comments and Kudos!!!

Chapter 6- Traitor

7/6/2019

Timmy

Timmy layed in bed, tossing and turning, unable to get Armie and their shared kisses out of his mind. First, he had the relief to discover that his attraction to Armie wasn’t one-sided. And now, having had the mind-blowing experience of his lips actually on Armie’s, his feelings for Armie had sky-rocketed from intense crush to all-out sexual obsession. His body literally throbbed with need as he had to talk himself out of returning to Armie’s room, again and again. 

Timmy closed his eyes and remembered the way their bodies fit so well together. He pictured Armie’s broad shoulders, then let his imagination wander further south, past Armie’s firm pecs, down his sharply defined abs, all the way to the generous bulge just beyond the waistband of his jeans. His fantasies of Armie were suddenly no longer PG-13; they were solidly R-rated, and rapidly approaching XXX territory. 

Timmy glanced at his clock- 2:30am. He had been in this sexual purgatory for almost two hours. He was so tempted to slide a hand down his boxers to deal with his sexual frustration. But a tiny optimistic (and fairly pathetic) voice in his head told him to keep waiting....maybe there would be a knock at his door. He didn’t want to be caught mid-wank again, especially when the real thing was so close by.

But the knock never came. Timmy finally fell into a fitful sleep around 3am, and dreamed only of Armie. 

As soon as Timmy opened his eyes the next morning, the events of the previous night came flooding back to him- the dinner with Lola, Armie and his friends; his encounter with Armie in the bathroom; and, finally, the kisses they shared. He strained to hear if the rest of the household was up, but he heard only silence. He stretched and smiled as he considered that it was Saturday…no theater practice for him, no workshop for Armie. He could potentially spend the entire day with Armie….exploring the city, possibly going to a museum or a concert in the park. Holding hands, maybe even stealing a kiss? He let his imagination wander.

Sure, Timmy acknowledged to himself, Armie had left him with the firm declaration that Timmy was too young, that they couldn't be together. But that was only AFTER their kiss that held the promise of more to come. The passion Timmy felt from Armie's kiss was so much more honest than the empty words and weak protestations the older man had attempted to hide behind. It was just a matter of time until Armie would admit his true feelings, Timmy was sure of it. 

Timmy checked the time- already 9:30am. He decided to get up and start the coffee. He slipped on some shorts and a t-shirt and started down the hallway, pausing at Armie’s closed door, listening. No sound came from his room. 

Timmy continued down the hallway to the kitchen, then stopped short at the entryway at the sight of Armie sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee. His heart skipped a beat, reacting intensely to the unexpected and happy surprise of Armie in the kitchen, looking unshowered, unshaven, and utterly sexy. 

Timmy swallowed hard and choked out a “Morning.”

Armie looked up and a wide smile spread across his face. “Good morning. You slept in, too, huh? I think your parents are already gone for the day. They left some coffee and bagels for us.”

Timmy shifted awkwardly on his feet, glanced at the spread of bagels, lox, and cream cheese on the table, and turned to pour himself some coffee. He took a breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach. 

He kept his back to Armie. “Yeah, well, I had some trouble getting to sleep last night.” 

A weighty pause hung in the air. Timmy turned to look at Armie, who seemed to be considering this information while slowly stirring his coffee. He finally spoke. 

“Did you now? I wonder why that would be…” A small smile started to play on his lips. Timmy struggled to read his expression, but was lost. If only Armie’s face showed his every emotion the way Timmy's face often did. 

He opened his mouth to speak, struggling to get his words out. “Well…you know…I had a lot on my mind last night. Because…you know…of what happened...”

Armie cut him off with a quick laugh. “I know Tim; I was there.” 

He gave Timmy a wink, and Timmy was confused at how nonchalant he was, playing off the night before as if it had been nothing. Timmy has no idea how to respond to this casual attitude, so he decided to follow his lead and pretend like maybe it wasn't a big deal. He gave a forced laugh and an eye roll. 

“I know you were....so, what are you doing today? Do you want to, I don't know….” he gathered his courage, “hang out or something later?”

For a split second, Armie looked taken aback at Timmy's suggestion, but he quickly composed himself. 

”Sure, we can hang later. I have some things to do this morning, but we can do something this afternoon. Why not?” He seemed to be directing this question at himself rather than Timmy. 

Timmy sighed in relief. “Great! I'll meet you back here after lunch and we'll do something?”

Armie drained his coffee mug and headed out of the kitchen. “Sounds good. See you in a few hours.” 

He left the kitchen to the bathroom, and Timmy heard the shower start up. Timmy took a bite of his bagel and got more coffee, letting his mind stray to thoughts of a wet naked Armie, just a few doors down. 

As Timmy was enjoying this daydream, the shower stopped and a few minutes later, Armie returned down the hallway, fully dressed, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He stuck his head into the kitchen. “Later, Tim.”

“Great, yeah, see you in a few hours!”

Timmy couldn't contain his excitement at having plans with Armie that afternoon. He turned on the radio, blasting his favorite hip-hop station, and danced down the hallway to get ready for his day. 

The morning went by slowly as Timmy waited for Armie’s return. He watched dumb videos on YouTube, ran lines for his play, texted his friend Will, and attempted to do some of his summer reading for school. He looked at the clock- it was only noon. 

At 1pm, he threw together a sandwich and picked at it nervously, too excited for Armie’s return to eat much. 

At 2pm, he blasted some music and paced anxiously around the apartment. 

At 3pm, he scrolled through his phone mindlessly, wondering if he should text Armie and make sure he was alright. 

By 4pm, he was starting to get pissed. He turned on the television and sullenly watched a movie he'd seen four times already. 

His parents came home at 6, asking about his day, and did he know where Armie was?

“How the fuck would I know where Armie is??” he snapped at his mom. He grabbed his phone and wallet, and slammed out the door. He sent a group text out to his friends- ‘Who wants to get fucked up tonight?’

He was going to drink that asshole out of his system if it was the last thing he did. 

Armie

Armie’s eyes flew open at exactly 7:30am, his body clock already on a regular schedule from his early morning workshops. He flopped onto his stomach and pulled a pillow over his head, attempting to will himself back to sleep. He was not ready to mentally face the events of the night before. Unfortunately, his brain was already focused on Timmy; he was incapable of banishing him from his thoughts. 

He started working through the problem that was his feelings for the boy. He carefully examined every interaction they'd had, paying the closest attention to the occurrences of the previous night. He tried to be logical and rational, but his mind always led him back to the emotional: the golden flecks in Timmy’s eyes, which seemed to change color depending on the lighting of the room; the way he laughed with pure, uninhibited abandon at any little thing Armie said; his endearing stop-start way of telling a story, interrupting one anecdote with another; the petal-pink color of his lips, and the way they were as soft as a satin when pressed into a kiss…

Armie sighed and turned on his side. It was useless. There was nothing rational or logical about his feelings for Timmy. He knew that his first instinct on the day he had arrived had been the correct one: keep his distance and keep their relationship as platonic as possible. Would he be able to take that step backward, and stuff Pandora back into her box? Armie knew he had to try. 

Finally at 9am he gave up on trying to get back to sleep, and steeled himself to face Timmy. He had a plan of attack: he would be friendly and relaxed, but keep his distance. He would act like a buddy, a mentor, or an older brother. That's it. He could do that. Right?

Armie opened the door and was relieved to find silence in the apartment; Timmy's door was still closed. He walked past Nicole and Marc’s bedroom; the door was open but no one was inside. The kitchen was empty, as well, but there was a full carafe of coffee made. Armie poured himself a mug and started to plan his day, when Timmy appeared in the doorway with droopy eyes and hair askew. Armie cursed himself for the way his stomach lurched at the sight of him, looking more sleepy puppy than human. Timmy seemed startled to see Armie. 

Armie took a deep breath, reminded himself of his plan, plastered a huge grin on his face, and proceeded to start a conversation with Timmy like they had not made-out passionately in his bedroom the night before. As if his world hadn't been irretrievably rocked by the lips of this lanky boy. As if there wasn't anything he wanted to do more at this moment than grab Timmy with both hands, and pull him again into a kiss deeper than the ocean. 

Nope, they were just two bros, having coffee in the kitchen. 

Then, as he often did, Timmy caught Armie off-guard by asking him if he wanted to spend the afternoon together. Armie’s first instinct was to say no. It would be too hard to resist the temptation of Timmy for an entire afternoon. But then he caught sight of Timmy’s beautiful, hopeful eyes, and impulsively gave in. Why not, he reasoned with himself? They were going to live together for five more weeks. Armie couldn't avoid spending time with him forever. 

Before he could change his mind, Armie made a fast exit from the kitchen, took a quick shower, and left the apartment with a brusque “Later.”

Armie thankfully had errands to run all morning, keeping his mind off of Timmy. But as he finished his last piece of morning business at the post office, his trepidation at spending the afternoon with the boy started to grow. He grabbed a falafel from a street cart and found a bench to sit, eat, and think. 

Could he do it: hang with Timmy, shooting hoops, perusing a Farmers’ Market, or WHATEVER, while hiding his true feelings? Keeping a mask of indifference on for several hours, with Timmy just a few feet away? 

Armie sighed. He wasn't up for it for the task. He just couldn't do it. He finished his falafel, then texted a few of his friends from his workshop to see if they wanted to go see a movie, go to dinner later, maybe get some drinks. Anything. Timmy was going to be hurt, or pissed, or most likely both, but Armie couldn't face him. He had been an idiot for giving in and agreeing to spend the afternoon with him. 

His heart broke more than a little. This wasn't what he wanted, but it was for the best. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------–------------------------------------------

It was the end of a long night as Armie made his way up 9th, buzzed from drinks with friends and tired from avoiding Timmy all day. He sent a quick prayer to the patron saint of lost causes that Timmy was either still out, or already in bed when he got back to the apartment. As he approached the building, he noticed two people sitting on the bench close to the entrance, one hunched over as if in pain. He took a few more steps and recognised the bent form as Timmy, and Lola as the other. She had an arm around him, rubbing his back. 

Armie hurried towards them, alarmed. Was Tim hurt in some way? 

“Lola, what's going on? Is Tim alright?”

Timmy bolted upright at the sounds of Armie’s voice, his face full of fury. 

“What tha fuck do you care?” Timmy slurred. “You're a busy, busy guy, right? Whatever, ARMIE HAMMER. You're not so cool. You're not cool at all. Fuck you, Armie!”

Timmy hunched back down again and Lola looked at Armie apologetically. 

“I bumped into him and his friends outside that dive bar on 8th like an hour ago. He was actually worse then; he's calmed down a bit. I don't know what you did Armie, but man, is he pissed at you.” 

She didn't come out and ask what had happened between them, but her face showed confusion at the situation. Armie felt weak with guilt at his culpability. What was he supposed to tell Lola?

“I guess I, um, disappointed him today. We were supposed to hang out and I...I got hung up. Please, let me take him upstairs.” 

Timmy sat up again and shook his head rapidly. “No way. You don't get to CARE now, Armie!”

Armie turned to Lola. “Please, let me take him. Thank you for bringing him here. Are you ok to get home?”

Lola gave a humourless laugh. “Yeah, I'm good. Please tell Timmy to call me tomorrow, when he feels up for it. I think he and I need to talk.” She sighed sadly and gave Armie a look of resignation. “Good luck.”

After Lola had gone, Armie knelt down in front of Timmy and put his hands on his knees. Timmy tried to turn away, but Armie put a hand on his chin, and turned his head back so he was facing Armie. 

“Tim,” he started, with guilt and sadness in his eyes, “I am so, so sorry that I blew you off today. I should have texted you or called you. Anything. I was a coward, and a complete and total asshole.” 

Timmy still wouldn't meet Armie’s eyes, but he stopped trying to wiggle away. 

“Why, Armie? Why did you not show up? Do you hate me?” Timmy asked miserably. 

Armie gave a sad laugh. “No, Tim. I don't hate you. I like you. A lot. But let's get you upstairs. We can talk more once you’ve sobered up a bit.”

Timmy let himself be led inside by Armie. He swayed when he walked, but Armie kept a firm grip on him. They entered the apartment with a bang, as Timmy tripped and fell into a table in the foyer. Nicole rushed out of her room to check on the noise, her face falling with disappointment at the sight of her drunk son. 

“Timmy! What happened?” She eyed Armie. “Was he with you?”

“No, no. He was out with friends and I guess he indulged a bit too much. I'll get him to bed. I'm so sorry we woke you.”

Timmy chose that moment to pipe in. “It's ok, Mom. Armie says he will take care of me. He told me that he likes me, but I think he's lying.” 

He walked over and gave his mom a sloppy kiss on the cheek, then continued stumbling down the hall. Nicole glanced at Armie. 

“I've never seen him like this. Are you sure you want to take care of him?” She put her hand to her mouth in worry.

“I've got him. He’ll be okay; I promise.” 

Nicole nodded tiredly, then retreated to her room. Armie followed Timmy to the bathroom and found him sitting cross-legged on the floor. He was in front of the toilet, one arm in his lap, the other laid across the toilet seat with his head resting on it. 

“Armie, I feel really shitty. I think I drank too much.” 

Armie carefully lowered himself into the floor next to Timmy, who was swaying even as he sat. Armie opened his mouth to reply, when Timmy suddenly sat up on his knees, leaned over the toilet, and violently emptied the contents of the night’s partying into the bowl. Armie rubbed his back as Timmy snuffled and rubbed his eyes, then suddenly expelled another round of vomit from his body. He waited a few moments with his head in the toilet, then wiped his mouth and fell back on his haunches. 

“I think I’m done,” he mumbled.

“Okay. I’m here, I’ll take care of you,” Armie whispered, trying to reassure him. Timmy nodded, then let out a sob. 

“I'm so embarrassed. You're not supposed to see me like this. We were supposed to HANG OUT today, Armie.” He looked up at Armie with sad, wet eyes. “I thought you liked me.” 

Armie shook his head, giving in to his torn and crumpled heart. “Fuck Tim, I do. And I said this before, but you probably don't remember… I am so, so sorry. I'm an idiot and a bastard and I don't deserve you.”

Timmy lifted his eyes up to Armie. “But do you WANT me?”

Armie sighed and let the question sit between them for a moment, then he stood up and helped Timmy off the floor. “Come on, let's get you to bed,” he said, avoiding the question entirely. 

Armie helped Timmy out of his jeans (respectfully averting his eyes), and into the bed. He brought him some water and Ibuprofin, then laid a soft kiss on his forehead. 

“Sleep well, Tim.” Armie was about to stand and return to his room, when Timmy's hand suddenly shot up, catching Armie’s elbow, tight. 

“Wait, Armie, don't go. Just lay here with me for a bit. Please?”

Armie looked down at Timmy, looking so soft and vulnerable. How could Armie leave him, especially since he was the cause of Timmy's current state?

He gave a resigned sigh. “Of course I'll stay, just for a little while. Scoot over a bit. It's going to be a tight fit”

Timmy happily pressed himself against the wall to make room for Armie. Armie shed his jeans, shoes, and button-up, and crawled in next to Timmy. He marveled at how easily Timmy’s body molded itself to his when he wrapped his arms around Timmy's smaller, warm body. He breathed in the sweet scent of Timmy's hair, tickling his face, and fell into a deep sleep.


	7. The Longest Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost midnight! Timmy suffers through a long day with a nasty hangover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am finally home and eager to start writing again! Sorry for the delay; my parents' house was not conducive to writing ;)

The Longest Day

7/7/2019

Timmy

Timmy woke late the next morning, his head pounding and his mouth tasting of manure and ash. He glanced over at his bedside table and saw with relief and some confusion that there was a glass of water and two Ibuprofens sitting there. He started to wrack his brain for details from the night before, turning onto his side away from the wall. Suddenly, a familiar scent of vanilla and sandalwood lingering on his pillow reached Timmy.

Armie. That was Armie’s cologne. Timmy buried his face in his pillow and breathed deep as the events of the previous night began to trickle into his consciousness, hazy and vague. Drinking at Violetta’s house with his friends. Playing pool and doing shots at that dive bar. Getting into an argument with…someone, Timmy couldn’t recall who… outside the bar, and then he was with Lola. The night grew even fuzzier at this point, but he was certain of one thing: Armie had been in his bed last night. He couldn’t remember why or how, but he was sure that at some point, he had shared his bed with Armie.

Timmy slowly sat up, his brain ready to burst out violently of his skull. He gulped down the pills and water, and grabbed his phone. It was already almost 11am; the house seemed quiet. He opened his text messages and typed out a message to Armie before he could lose his nerve.

_TC: You were in my bed last night._

He remembered that he was supposed to be mad at Armie, but he just couldn’t work his way back to anger anymore. He pressed his face into the scent of Armie again, and reveled in the fact that he had been there. Despite feeling like shit ten different ways, Timmy was awash in happiness. His phone dinged with a text.

_AH: How are you feeling this morning? You were a bit of a mess last night. Also, do you remember me apologizing to you? I’m a crappy human being. I’m so sorry._

Timmy held the phone close to his chest and took a deep breath. Yes, he forgave Armie. He said that he was sorry, and he had been in his bed- that’s all the information Timmy needed. Damn it, he wished that he could remember everything that had happened! He typed out another message.

_TC: I might have overdone it last night. My mouth tastes like a sewer. But someone left me water and pain pills. Was it you? And why does my pillow smell like you? And how can I convince you to come back? I’ll forgive you if you come back…_

Timmy sent the message, and then immediately worried that it was too much. Maybe Armie had just tucked him in and left? Fuck, he hated that the situation was so out of his control. He put a pillow over his head as he waited several long, brutal minutes for Armie to reply. He grabbed his phone as soon as it dinged.

_AH: It was me. You asked me to stay, and I couldn’t say no. It seems that I can’t stay away from you…_

Timmy read the message, his heart pounding. He can’t stay away? Does that mean he wants to be close? He hurriedly typed a message.

_TC: Where are you now? I need to see you._

_AH: Tim, it’s after 11. You’re like Sleeping Beauty. I’m out but I’ll be back later. Get something to eat and try to sleep more._

Timmy put down his phone in irritation. Fuck, why was he always out? Timmy pouted for a moment, then sent out one last desperate text.

_TC: I can’t sleep when all I can think about is you in this bed. I can smell you on my pillow. I forgive you for yesterday….just come back. PLEASE!_

Timmy waited impatiently for Armie’s reply. He was so angry with himself for being too drunk to actually remember Armie in his bed. But the fact that he had been here, that he had given in and had been next to Timmy in his room last night, that gave him some solace. Finally, after what felt like ages, his phone pinged.

_AH: You silly, impatient boy. Grow up ;) We can talk at midnight. After your parents go to bed. Now go back to sleep!_

Midnight. They would talk at midnight. Timmy could deal with that. He staggered to the kitchen, found some cold pizza to choke down, then went back to bed. He needed to sleep this day away to make midnight come faster.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Timmy woke again around 2pm. He staggered out of his room; his parents were in the living room, watching a movie. They both looked up when Timmy entered the room, his father pausing the movie.

“He’s alive!” Marc joked with a chuckle.

Nicole shook her head, disapproving. “Timmy, I’m not going to make a big deal out of last night, but I hope it was an isolated incident. No mother likes to see her son like that.”

Timmy hung his head, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, mom. I was upset over something, and my friends bought me some shots to cheer me up. It won’t happen again.”

Nicole held out her arms to give Timmy a hug. “That’s good to hear. What was upsetting you? Anything you can share with us?”

Timmy climbed onto the couch next to her, and leaned into her embrace. He shook his head as she held him. “It was dumb. Really, it was nothing, and I’m over it now. And believe me, this hangover is punishment enough for last night. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.”

Nicole kissed the top of his head and held him for a moment. She murmured into his hair, “It’s hard to see your child in pain. I hope that whatever it was is better now.”

“You look like shit, Timmy. Go get some aspirin and take a shower,” Marc chimed in.

Timmy rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot, dad.” But he got up to do as he suggested. After his shower, he started to feel human again. His body was still tired, but his headache was gone and he no longer felt the continuous need to throw-up. He got dressed and checked his phone. Fuck, there was a text from Lola- “Call me when you’re up. We need to talk.”

His stomach seized with dread, but he knew what he had to do. He was meeting Armie to talk at midnight; he didn’t know what that meant, or what it might lead to, but he knew that it was time to cut Lola loose. He sent her a text- “Meet at Mud in an hour?” She texted back a thumbs up.

An hour later, Timmy was sitting in Mud with a dejected Lola. They sipped their cappuccinos in silence, Timmy trying to get the nerve to do what had to be done. Lola turned to look at him.

“Timmy, you need to tell me what’s going on with you. You don’t call or text me all last week, then you acted so strange at the restaurant Friday night. Then I find you shit-faced and crying about Armie last night. Please…enlighten me.” Timmy ventured a glance at her. She didn’t look angry; just sad and perplexed. Timmy chewed on his bottom lip. Fuck, he hated this.

“I….I think we should break up, Lola. You are such a great girl, and you deserve so much better. I’m so sorry.” He looked at her miserably. She nodded slowly.

“So, after a year, you suddenly want to break up? That just doesn’t make sense, Timmy. Things were fine with us. I mean, up until a week ago. What’s changed in the last week?” She took a deep breath and gave Timmy a hard look. “Does this have something to do with Armie?”

Timmy swallowed and shifted in his seat. It did and it didn’t. He decided to be honest, but only to a point.

“Nothing is going on with me and Armie. He isn’t why we need to break-up. I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now, Lola. I just didn’t have the guts to do it until now. But it’s not you. You’re incredible. You’re beautiful, and smart, and funny. It’s just me; it’s all me,” he concluded miserably. This was not fun.

Lola slammed down her coffee cup with a thud. It was as if she was finally letting out all the anger that she’d been holding in for the last week. “And I guess I just need to accept it? You’re done with me, and I have no say? Is that it? Well, fuck you Timmy. I’m done with you, too.”  


Lola grabbed her purse, and stormed out of Mud. Timmy watched her with a mix of distress and relief. It had been terrible and awkward, but it was done. They were broken up. He felt like a shitty person, but he was now an unattached shitty person.

He looked at his watch. It was 3:45. Fuck, this was the longest day of his life.

Timmy texted Will to see if he wanted to run some lines for the play. Will was home, so Timmy went to his apartment. The two boys ordered pizza, and Timmy was able to waste a few more hours. Sometime after 9, he headed home.

Timmy opened his front door and heard the sound of Armie’s voice in the kitchen. He grinned and headed back there immediately. Armie and his mom were at the kitchen table, drinking wine and chatting. They looked up when he entered, and a sincere smile spread across Armie’s face. He looked genuinely happy to see Timmy, and Timmy couldn’t help but return the smile.

“There he is; the prodigal son returns!” Armie quipped with a smile.

“Where’ve you been, sweetie?” his mom asked.

Timmy shrugged and sat down at the table with them. His eyes met Armie’s, and he felt a lightning bolt of emotion pass between them.

“Just at Will’s house. You know, trying to pass the time.”

Armie raised his eyebrows. “What time IS it, by the way, Tim?”

Timmy looked at his watch. “9:45 It’s getting late,” he said with some mischief in his voice.

Armie looked at Timmy with a twinkle in his eye, and Timmy felt his body tingle in anticipation. “Hmm. It IS getting late. I’ve got some work to do for my first rehearsal tomorrow. I’ll leave you two to it.” He got up to leave, but caught Timmy’s eye and gave him the smallest nod just as he was leaving the kitchen. Timmy smiled to himself, taking that to mean that they were still meeting at midnight.

Nicole noticed his happy look. “Well, you must be feeling better. Did you have fun at Will’s?”

“Sure; we always have a good time. But mom, I need to tell you something. I broke up with Lola.” He wondered how his mom was going to take that news; she had always liked Lola, but she didn’t seem surprised.

“I think that was a good decision, Timmy. You have always seemed more like friends. You both deserve more.” She reached across the kitchen table and put her hand on Timmy’s. “There’s someone out there that will make you feel so much more than just friendship. You just have to find the right person.”

Timmy smiled gratefully. “Thanks, mom. It was so hard, but I know it was the right thing to do.”

“Then I’m glad you did it. Now come on, let’s go watch a movie.”

They watched a movie until almost midnight then said goodnight. Timmy quaked with the anticipation of meeting with Armie, and realized that they hadn’t said where they would meet. Well, it was a small apartment; Timmy would find him, he figured. He brushed his teeth and changed into his sleep pants. He checked the time. 11:55. Almost time to…what? Talk? Kiss? Something more?

The uncertainty of the situation started to give Timmy some anxiety. He would just have to meet Armie and see what happened. But he knew what he wanted: he wanted to start where they left off the other night…with deep kisses and their bodies pressed close together. He felt his cock twitch at the memory. Is that what Armie wanted? It was time to find out.

He opened the bathroom door and the apartment was dark. He stepped out into the hallway and listened carefully. The tv was on in his parents’ bedroom; the low whir of the air conditioner sounded across the apartment; the ceiling creaked from the people above them, walking around their own apartment. He made his way softly past his room where Armie was staying; it was empty. He kept walking until he came to his living room, and saw the glowing ember of a lit cigarette on the balcony. He could just make out the tall form of Armie, standing against the ledge with his back to the interior of the apartment. Timmy took a deep breath, and headed that way.

He slowly slid open the balcony door and stepped out into the muggy summer night. Armie turned at the noise, and gave him a beautiful smile. Timmy returned the smile and stood next to Armie at the ledge, looking out over the city lights, the distant noise of traffic beneath them. The two stayed that way for a moment, then Armie slipped his hand over Timmy’s, sitting on the ledge.

“I’m glad you came,” he whispered.


	8. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, it's finally midnight in the Big Apple. The boys talk some, and then...some other stuff. Light smut, heavy fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the incredible comments on the last chapter. They made my day!

Chapter 8

Midnight

7/7/2019

“I’m glad you came,” Armie leaned down, whispering into Timmy’s curls.

They stood together like that in silence for several long moments, listening to the city below, enjoying the warmth from the skin of their hands pressed together. Timmy gestured to Armie’s cigarette. “Can I get one of those?”

Armie lit one off of his own and handed it to Timmy. “I didn’t know you smoked?” Tim questioned Armie.

Armie smirked. “I don’t. Only when I’m nervous.”

Timmy nudged him with his shoulder. “I’m nervous, too.”

He took a long drag from the cigarette, then turned to look at Armie. “What are we doing here?” he asked, low, scared of the answer that might come.

Armie stubbed out the remainder of his cigarette and sighed. He kept his eyes on the distant buildings as he spoke, his voice echoing the resignation he felt in his heart.

“I’ve tried to do the right thing, Tim. I’ve tried to stay away from you. But I can’t.” He turned to look at Timmy, his eyes tired. “As long as I know that you are close by, wanting me, I can’t stay away from you. But I have to know that you are 100% ok with this. That you have no reservations, no doubts. I don’t want you to have any regrets about being with me.”

Timmy was already nodding as Armie spoke. Of fucking course he had no doubts. This was all he had wanted since the first day he’d spent with Armie.

“I do. I mean, I don’t. I mean…I just want to be with you, and I have no doubts about that at all, Armie. None. Like, zero. I can’t stand the thought of you being here all summer, and not being with you.”

His eyes pleaded with Armie to truly understand that he meant what he said. Armie looked down at his face, shadowed in the dark but still undeniably beautiful. His heart melted. He was done. There was no turning back. But there were still questions that had to be answered.

“What about your parents? I feel like I’m betraying their trust…” he asked miserably.

Timmy put his free hand on Armie’s bicep and gripped tightly. “Armie, I promise you, they trust me. They know you; they know you’re a good guy. To be honest, I think they suspect that I have a crush on you already.”

Armie smiled at that. “Yeah, but do they know that I have a crush on you?”

Timmy felt his heart stutter. To hear those words from Armie’s mouth…fuck, it was too good to be true.

“Do you?” He was fishing, he knew it, but he wanted to hear it again. His hand was still on Armie’s bicep, and he gripped him even harder.

Armie hesitantly put his hands on Timmy’s waist, and leaned in close. “I do,” he breathed. “Can I kiss you?”

Timmy threw down his cigarette and nodded quickly. “Yes, please.”

And before he even got the words out, Armie’s lips were on his, soft but insistent. Timmy responded with the urgency of a horny 17-year old made to wait far too long for something that he’s wanted badly. Armie seemed encouraged by Timmy’s enthusiasm, and pulled him close by his waist, eliciting a whimper from Timmy. His tongue ventured into the warm depths of Timmy’s mouth, and Timmy opened his mouth wide to let him in.

Timmy was the first to let his hands wander, slowly moving down to cup Armie’s round, firm ass. Armie’s breathe stuttered, and he let out a moan. “Fuck, Tim. What are you doing to me?” he exhaled.

Timmy smiled into Armie’s mouth and pulled him even closer, feeling his erection pulsing against his own. It felt so good; he wanted to thrust their bodies closer and closer. He wove his arms around Armie’s neck, and a leg around his thigh, wanting to climb him like a tree, closing every inch of space between them.

Armie laughed softly and pulled away. “Slow down, Tim. We don’t want to tumble over the side of your balcony.”

Tim was too far gone to be slowed. He pulled Armie back to him. “Don’t stop,” he gasped. But Armie knew he had to be the sensible one. He kissed the top of Tim’s head. “I don’t want to stop, either, but let’s go inside. We need to talk more.”

Tim looked at him incredulously. “You’re fucking with me, right? Armieeeee! Please!”

He suddenly put a hand on Armie’s erection and squeezed. “We can talk later,” he pleaded

Armie shook his head with fond amusement. He could already tell that Tim was going to be the death of him. “As good as that feels, we need to stop. And, yes, we need to talk. Come on; let’s go inside.” He put his hand over Timmy’s, removed it, and headed into the apartment.

Timmy watched him retreat in disbelief. He was in no mood to talk. He stood on the balcony, pressing on his hard-on, and pouting. When he realized that Armie wasn’t coming back, he huffed in frustration and followed him inside.

Timmy found Armie in his room, sitting on his bed. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, trying to look put-out, but Armie looked so fucking gorgeous, just SITTING there, that he wasn’t very successful.

“You left me,” he said, petulantly.

Armie smiled. “Come on, shut the door and sit. We need to talk. We can’t dive into this without having a discussion.”

Timmy did as he was told, but continued to look annoyed. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to make-out, and feel Armie’s hard body against his own. Fuck talking.

He sat on the bed next to Armie, but refused to look at him. Armie chuckled and put his hand on Timmy’s thigh.

“If you want to talk, you shouldn’t do THAT,” Timmy said, nodding at Armie’s hand on his leg. Armie raised both hands in surrender.

“Ok, that’s fair. So… where should we start?”

Timmy shrugged. “I don’t know. YOU’RE the one who wanted to talk, remember?” He looked up at Armie. “What do you want to know?”

Armie knew what needed to be asked. He glanced at Tim, sitting there looking so young and innocent. He knew that Tim wasn’t a virgin, but he also wasn’t nearly as experienced as Armie.

He licked his lips; he was nervous. “Have you…have you ever been with a man before, Tim?”

Tim was taken aback by the directness of the question. “I kissed a guy last summer at theater camp. Is that what you mean?” He knew that that wasn’t what Armie meant.

Armie chuckled. “No, Tim. That’s not what I mean. What I meant was… have you ever been with a man _sexually_? Have you ever…” his voice became low and husky, “touched another man’s cock? Or sucked someone off? Have you ever gotten a blow-job? Have you ever….had sex with a man?”

As Armie spoke, his eyes grew dark. Timmy swallowed as he listened, feeling his cock swell with interest. He shook his head. When he spoke, his voice came out barely a whisper.

“No, but…I want to do all of those things.” Tim tilted his head down and looked at Armie through his eyelashes. “I want to do all of those things with you, Armie.”

They looked at each other, the heat between them palpable and almost unbearable in the small room.

“Oh fuck, Tim,” Armie breathed, then grabbed Timmy and pulled him onto his lap, Timmy’s legs straddling Armie’s hips. “I want all those things, too.”

He rubbed his hands up and down Timmy’s back, his large hands almost covering the length of Timmy’s spine. Timmy leaned his head back and Armie took the opportunity to kiss and bite his neck, devouring him like a man starved. The feel of Armie’s lips and teeth on his neck sent shivers down Timmy’s back, and he couldn’t stop himself from grinding down hard onto Armie. Armie reached up and pushed his hand through Timmy’s hair, then pulled Timmy’s lips down to his own.

“I love these curls,” he murmured into Timmy’s lips, “They really do it for me.”

“Less talking, more kissing,” Timmy mumbled back, then closed the distance between their lips. All he wanted was to feel Armie’s lips and tongue against his. Armie tasted of whiskey and cigarettes, like sex and sin. Timmy kissed and licked and bit; he could barely control his mouth and hands. He wanted all of Armie in his mouth, in his hands, against his body.

He started to unbutton Armie’s shirt, wanting to run his fingers through his chest hairs as they kissed. He fumbled clumsily, and Armie chuckled and took over for him, unbuttoning a few buttons, then pulling it off over his head. Timmy stopped kissing him and leaned back, just to take in the sight of Armie in front of him, like a tan, Roman god. He rubbed his hands up and down Armie’s chest, then bent down and took a nipple in his mouth.

“Oh fuck, Tim. You’re killing me.” Armie moaned with unconcealed pleasure.

“Oh, you like that? Duly noted,” he grinned and returned his attention to Armie’s pecs.

“Your turn,” Armie gasped, and suddenly stood up with Tim still attached to him at his waist, and flipped him onto his back on the bed. He hovered over a startled Tim for a few seconds, just taking in the sight of the beautiful boy, lying prone on his bed. Then he reached down and pulled off Tim’s t-shirt with one motion. “Off, off, off!” he laughed.

He crawled between Tim’s legs, sprinkling butterfly kisses across Tim’s smooth chest, then slowly down his flat belly, stopping at the waistband of his shorts. He looked up at Tim. “Is this ok? Can I do this for you?”

Tim was so turned on by his view of Armie between his legs, he felt seconds away from coming. He nodded and stammered, “Yes, but I don’t think I’ll last long.”

Armie was unconcerned by this pronouncement, and he continued with his task, pulling down Tim’s shorts and boxers until his erection sprang free. Armie sucked in his breath; Tim’s cock was a thing of beauty, sleek and elegant. Armie salivated just looking at it. His heart sped up as he tugged off Tim’s shorts the rest of the way, then returned to his erection.

“Tim, I want to suck you off. May I?” He knew he already had Tim’s consent, but he wanted to make sure Tim was alright with what Armie was doing, every step of the way. Tim nodded furiously.

"Fuck, yes, PLEASE, Armie!” he whimpered in desperation.

With those words, Armie got to work, licking the length of Tim’s erection, then taking him fully into his mouth. Tim squirmed with pleasure, gripping Armie’s sheets. Armie was encouraged by the sounds he heard coming from Tim- gasps and moans and “Oh fuck!” He worked Tim faster and faster with his mouth and tongue, one hand pulsing at the bottom of Tim’s cock, the other rubbing Tim’s chest. He felt Tim getting closer and closer to orgasm, his hips pulsing uncontrollably against Armie’s mouth, dripping with saliva. Suddenly he felt Tim seize up, and his mouth filled with his release. He took it all in and swallowed it down.

He sat up, wiping his mouth clean, taking in the unbelievable sight of a post-orgasm Tim: pupils blown, breathing heavily, his hair disheveled; his pink lips parted. Armie shook his head in happy disbelief that he was the one that made Tim look that way. He crawled up to the top of the bed and lay next to Tim, who turned to him and smiled gratefully.

“Thank you, Armie,” he whispered.

Their eyes locked and they stayed that way for several long minutes, their legs entwined. Armie’s heart was beating out of his chest in a way that was new and unfamiliar to him. He wanted to take Tim into his arms and never let go. He wanted to protect him and keep him; he wanted to hear him laugh, listen to him talk, watch him sleep. He wanted to lick every inch of his skin. He wanted to be inside of him, and feel Tim inside of him, too.

He wanted it all.

He was in so much trouble. He was falling in love with a 17 year old boy.


	9. Unleashed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie has unleashed a sexual beast in Timmy. Because, how could he not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your incredible comments on the Midnight chapter. I had so much fun writing it! The boys are going to take things much slower than Elio and Oliver did, as they have more time to do so. I don't want Timmy to regret anything ;)

Chapter 9

Unleashed

7/8/2019

The musky scent of Armie, masculine and pungent, drifted into Timmy’s dreams, pulling him into consciousness. He stirred, feeling the warm expanse of Armie’s back pressed against him. He slipped an arm around Armie’s torso, buried his nose into his skin and nuzzled. Armie was breathing heavily, still quite asleep. Timmy shook off the last vestiges of his own slumber, but he could feel several parts of his body rousing. He brought his watch up to his face and squinted: 6am. The room was just starting to lighten from the rising sun; Timmy knew that Armie usually woke at 7.

Timmy considered that he should probably let Armie be and return to his room, but he couldn’t pull himself away. Armie was wearing only his boxers, and was radiating pure heat. Timmy lifted himself up on his right elbow, then tentatively took his left hand, which was currently thrown over Armie’s stomach, and let it slowly venture further afield: up to his shoulder, down his bicep, along his side to his hip. Timmy groaned internally. The man was a fucking masterpiece. How was Timmy IN HIS BED? Well, technically it was actually Timmy’s bed, but still.

He felt his cock filling to maximum capacity and he wanted so badly to press against Armie to relieve some pressure. Oh god, to kiss him and touch him and grind against him and...

He had to get out of there. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally come all over Armie while he slept. He face heated at the very thought, but he still didn’t remove his hand from Armie’s body, and instead leaned down and gave his shoulder a soft kiss.

Oh man, Armie’s skin was so soft, and he smelled so fucking good. Timmy felt his hips thrust against Armie’s back, totally without his permission. Shit, that felt good. He HAD to get out of there.

Suddenly, Armie stirred, stretching his arms above his head, and then he turned to face Timmy in bed. His eyes were still closed, but he pulled Timmy in close to him; Timmy could feel that he was in the exact same physical condition as Timmy.

Fuck. That was it… any self-control that Timmy had quickly vanished. He pressed into Armie's hard-on, so that their erections rubbed deliciously together, and then began kissing up and down Armie’s throat. He could feel Armie’s cock twitch, and a soft moan escaped from his mouth. Timmy slid his hand down Armie’s back to his ass, and pulled him even closer. Armie seemed to come to full awareness.

“Tim….what are you doing?” he mumbled.

Timmy paused in his devouring of Armie’s neck and snickered. “What do you THINK I’m doing?”

He heard Armie chuckle softly. “Well, good morning to me, I guess,” and he sighed, allowing Timmy to continue working on his neck. “Don’t leave any marks, babe.”

Timmy’s heart skipped a beat at his use of the nickname, and he pushed himself up higher on the bed to kiss Armie on the mouth. Armie responded enthusiastically, fully awake now, then pulled Timmy on top of him, so their two bodies were flush. Timmy was rutting hard against him, grateful to get full friction. He had never done this before, this feeling of his hard dick rubbing against another, and it was the best sensation he had had in his life, apart from the blow-job Armie had given him last night. He hips quickened their pace against Armie and he groaned with pleasure.

Armie whispered into his ear, “It’s ok, baby. Let yourself go. I got you.” 

The soft, sexy sound of Armie’s voice, coupled with the permission in the words, set Timmy off, and he thrust violently against Armie for just a few more seconds, before his body went rigid. He came hard, with a whimper of “Fuck,” then he collapsed onto Armie, breathing hard and fast, his heart beating out of his chest. Armie wrapped his arms around the boy and laid soft kisses on his head.

After a moment, Timmy realized what he had done and lifted his head to look at Armie. “I made a mess….” he said, with some embarrassment.

Armie shook his head. “Everything can be washed. Don’t waste a single second feeling bad. But you should probably go back to your room. Your parents will be up soon.”

Timmy kissed Armie again, unable to keep his lips off this gorgeous man. “What about you? I want to make you feel good, too….”

Armie smiled warmly. “I want that, too, Tim, and the time for that will come. But not this morning. I’m so happy that I made YOU feel good; that’s all I need. Now, get yourself back to your room before Nicole catches us.”

He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a few tissues. Timmy reluctantly cleaned himself off, gave Armie a kiss and a final sulky look at having to leave, then quietly padded back to his own room. He closed the door as heard Armie go into the bathroom and turn on the shower. He chuckled, knowing what he was most likely doing in there. He threw on a clean pair of boxers, crawled gratefully into his bed, and fell into the deep sleep of someone who is fully sexually satiated.

Several hours later, Timmy woke, as usual, to an empty house. He remembered that today was Armie’s first day working on his play, and he regretfully wished that he had wished him good luck. He grabbed his phone to send a quick text off.

_TC- I forgot to say good luck today. Hope you love the cast that you’ll be working with._

Several minutes later, he received a text in reply.

_AH- Thank you :) So far, everyone seems great! I feel really welcome._

_AH- So, I was thinking of asking your parents’ permission to take you out to dinner tonight. What do you think?_

Timmy almost dropped his phone in shock. He hadn’t thought about “what comes next,” but obviously Armie had. That realization made Timmy feel simultaneously young, but also grateful for Armie’s obvious maturity. He lay back on his bed to think: what WOULD Marc and Nicole think of him and Armie dating? He had insisted to Armie in a fit of horny desperation that they wouldn’t mind, but was that really true? On one hand, they seemed to really like Armie, and he had been nothing but a considerate, kind guest since coming to stay with the Chalamets. But, on the other hand…he was 24 years old.

Timmy came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t know unless they asked. He didn’t want to sneak around with Armie for the next 4 weeks. He wasn’t sure if that was even possible- their apartment was certainly no massive mansion or villa. Honesty seemed the only way to go. He texted Armie back.

_TC: I think that sounds great. Just tell me where and what time. I miss you already._

_TC: I wish you were in bed with me right now._

He didn’t hear back from Armie again right away, but he didn’t mind- Armie was having an important, busy day. He actually couldn’t wait for Armie to tell him all about it. He loved that Armie was an actor, too, and that they had so much in common. How did he get so lucky to get such a hot guy, who was also sweet and smart and talented? Timmy shook his head in disbelief.

Timmy went about his morning, making himself some coffee and cereal, checking his social media and scanning the newspaper. He loved having the house to himself every morning. He passed Armie’s room on the way to shower and noticed that he had left the door ajar. He pushed down a fleeting feeling of guilt as he pushed open the door wider to look in. The room was far neater than when Timmy was living there. There were no clothes on the floor, or dishes on the desk.

Timmy stepped in to investigate further. He had spent the previous night in this room, but otherwise had not been inside it since Armie had arrived. The bed had been neatly made and Timmy noticed with a smirk that the sheets had been changed. He glanced over at the hamper, but it was empty; Armie must have already thrown them into the washer. What a considerate guest.

Armie had few possessions around the room- a copy of Game of Thrones, a Steve Jobs biography, a glasses case (he wears glasses?), and a Kindle. Armie must be an avid reader, Timmy realized with a smile. Another thing they had in common.

He continued on to the closet, opening it wide and enjoying the sight of Armie’s colorful button-ups and Polos taking up residency in Timmy’s space, his own remaining shirts pushed aside. Timmy imagined that they lived together, and that this was their closet in their shared home. He shut the closet door feeling happy, if a little silly.

He was just about to leave when, on an impulse, he opened the drawer to the nightstand next to his bed. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find, but the first thing he saw was a tube of lube, sitting right on top, like it was a perfectly normal thing to have tossed into your nightstand. Maybe it was to Armie?

He swallowed as he thought of the possible implications of the lube. Did Armie use it to masturbate? Did he bring it on this trip, hoping that he would have sex while in NY? HAD he used it since being here?

Timmy picked up the small tube, sat on the bed, and examined it. It had been opened and partially used. ‘Water-based, safe for use with contraception’, he read. Timmy let his mind wander to wicked places with those words. He still hadn’t seen Armie’s cock, but he had certainly felt it this morning, and he knew that he was generously endowed, to say the least. He peeked into the drawer again to see if there were condoms, as well, but didn’t see a package. Would Armie need to buy extra-large contraception? He leaned back on to Armie’s pillow and, using the vast mental library of images he had from the all the porn he had consumed in the last few years, pictured Armie rolling on a condom, then coating himself liberally with the lube.

Of course, Timmy felt himself start to harden from these images. He was tempted to stay in Armie’s room, among his things and his scent, to take care of himself. But he had already learned his lesson- you never know when someone might arrive home unexpectedly in the Chalamet household. He quickly squirted some lube onto his hand, returned the cap to the tube, placed it carefully back into the drawer, then retreated to his own locked room to take care of his business. He moaned at the slippery feeling of the lube against his erection, and vowed to buy his own tube very soon.

____________________________________________________________________

Timmy’s rehearsal went well and he was feeling almost completely prepared for his performances on Friday. He was packing up his things and checked his phone to find two texts, one from Armie and one from his mother.

_AH- We are on for tonight! What do you think about dim sum? China River at 8?_

_NF- So, had an interesting conversation with Armie this afternoon. Apparently the two of you will be going on a date tonight? Your dad and I are fine with it, but we will need to have a discussion about your relationship at some point._

Timmy couldn’t help but hug himself with excitement. He had a date with Armie tonight! And his parents knew. This was going to make things interesting and hopefully not too uncomfortable in the apartment for the next four weeks. He vibrated with anticipation of seeing Armie that night, and with the possibilities of what might happen after their date.


	10. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Date Night! Chinese food, good conversation, some awkwardness, and then some smut. Everything you need for a perfect date night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm living for all of your incredible comments! They really inspire me and keep me writing. Thank you all for you support!  
> xoxoxo

Chapter 10

Date Night

7/8/2019

“And then my dad chimed in and reminded me that, even though there’s no chance of accidental pregnancy, there are, and I quote, ‘other reasons’ to use condoms. And then he tossed a bunch on my lap. So, long story short, it was mortifying and uncomfortable, but I got a bunch of free condoms.”

Armie burst out laughing at Timmy’s humiliation from his parents’ earlier sex talk with him, but then made grabby hands.

“Let me see. Did they at least give you some decent ones?”

They were sitting on the second floor of a nearby Chinese restaurant, a feast of soup dumplings, pork bao, fried wontons, and calamari in between them. So far, the conversation between them had been easy and nonstop. Armie had recounted his first day at the theater, meeting the cast and learning the blocking for his scenes. His cheeks had flushed with excitement as he described how welcoming and supportive the cast had been to him.

Armie eventually couldn’t keep from asking Timmy what his parents had said about the date.

“Your mom seemed pretty shocked when I asked for her permission. I think that if she was even a tiny bit less open-minded, she would have said no. It almost made me back out,” Armie admitted, chewing on some pork.

Timmy’s eyes widened. “Oh no! They just need to get used to the idea. They like you a lot, Armie. But even though they’re cool parents, they’re still my parents.”

Timmy went on to describe the ‘talk’ he’d had with his parents, leaving out the part where they reminded Timmy that Armie would be leaving at the end of the summer, and not to get too attached. ‘Too late for that,’ he had thought at the time. He dug into his jeans pocket and threw one of the condoms his father had given him over to Armie’s side of the table. Armie picked it up and inspected it.

“Not bad. Your basic Trojan with lubrication. I prefer Trojan Bareskin, myself.”

Timmy’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you some kind of condom connoisseur?” he asked with a smirk.

Armie took a bite of a wonton. “As a matter of fact, I am. Hey, I know what I like.”

Timmy shifted in his seat, thinking about what he wanted to ask Armie, but not sure how.

“So… have you had, like, a lot of, um, OPPORTUNITIES, to try out all these various condoms?”

Armie smiled kindly. “Tim, I’m 24. Yes, I have some experience. But please, don’t let that make you feel awkward or pressured or anything like that.” He reached over and took Timmy’s hand that had been sitting on the table.

“I want to take things at your pace. I want everything we do to feel comfortable and good for you.”

Timmy smiled. “Well, you’re the one who has put the brakes on so far. I AM ready.”

Armie sat back and regarded Timmy for a moment. “We’ll see. You may think you’re ready for some things, Tim, but if we rush into them, they won’t be as good as they could be. Trust me.”

Timmy nodded, his eyes locked onto Armie’s. “I do.”

They moved onto other topics after that. Timmy remembered the books on Armie’s nightstand, and asked him about his favorite authors. They launched into a vigorous debate about Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (Timmy hated it, calling it pretentious, repetitive drivel; Armie thought that it was beautiful and harrowing), then their favorite Tarantino movies. They didn’t even realized that they had been sitting there for several hours when the waiter sheepishly informed them that the restaurant was closing up soon, and would they like some dessert?

They boys decided it was time to head home; they both had rehearsal the next day. Outside the restaurant, Armie took Timmy’s hand as they walked. Timmy was relishing the feel of Armie’s huge hand wrapped around his own, when Armie abruptly let go. Timmy looked up to see what was wrong, and saw two 20-something men approaching them on the sidewalk.

“Armie! Dude, what’s up!” one of them called.

Armie smiled at the two men. “Ben, Syd, how’s it going? Where are you coming from so late?”

“Just finishing up dinner. We went to that new brewery on Broadway. It was decent; not great. How about you?” The taller man eyed Timmy expectantly.

“Dinner, also. Oh, this is Tim. He’s the son of the family that I’m staying with. Tim, this is Ben and Sydney. They’re in my program. We just grabbed something to eat.” Armie shoved his hands in his pocket uncomfortably.

Tim smiled. “Nice to meet you both.”

The men launched into a lengthy conversation about each of their experiences at their respective theaters that day. Timmy stood by quietly; it was obvious that Armie didn’t want these men to know they were on a date. He shifted on his feet, waiting to leave, and feeling entirely like a kid waiting for his dad to finish a conversation with adult friends.

Eventually, the men said their goodbyes, and Timmy and Armie started to head towards the apartment. They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about what had just happened. After a few blocks, Armie reached to take Timmy’s hand again, but Timmy moved away. Armie sighed and stopped walking.

“Tim, look, I’m sorry. I know that sucked, but I’m not ready for the people in my program to know we’re dating.” He looked at Timmy with concern in his eyes.

“Are you not out in your program?” Timmy asked.

“No, I am. That’s not it. It’s just…” Armie looked up, as if the words he needed were written in the sky. “You’re still in high school, Tim. Now, _I’m_ okay with that, but not everyone will understand. They don’t know you the way I know you. I’m just not ready to deal with other people’s reactions yet. I don’t want you to get hurt by them.”

Timmy eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you don’t want ME to get hurt? Ok, sure Armie.” 

Timmy turned and continued down the sidewalk in a huff.

“Tim, wait!” Armie caught up with Tim and put his hands on his arms. “You’re right. It’s me. I just wasn’t ready to deal with their questions and judgements. I’m sorry. I just need to figure out the best way to handle this. Please…just be a little more patient with me?” 

His eyes pleaded with Timmy, who let out a sigh.

“I get it, Armie. It just felt shitty. It made me feel even more like a kid than I already do.”

Armie licked his lips and leaned down. “I don’t think of you as a kid at all, Tim. You are the smartest, funniest, most talented man I’ve even met,” he said in a low voice. He put one hand on Timmy’s chin and tilted it up.

Timmy looked into Armie’s soft, blue eyes, tried to stay mad, and failed. He stomach gave an excited tumble as Armie brought his lips to Timmy’s in a brief, velvety kiss. As Armie pulled away, Tim whispered with their lips still close, “Then let me make you feel good, too, Armie.”

Armie rubbed the back of Tim’s neck and nodded. “Soon. I promise.”

They headed back to Timmy’s apartment; at the sound of the front door closing, Nicole popped out of her bedroom and asked how dinner was. The three chatted for several minutes about the restaurant, and Timmy noticed with annoyance that she hung around in the hallway far longer than she typically would. He took the hint, gave her a kiss goodnight, said thank you and good night to Armie, and went to his room. He heard Armie talk to Nicole for another minute, then go into the bathroom. He thankfully finally heard his mom return to her room. He quietly opened his door and softly tapped on the bathroom door. Armie opened the door with raised eyebrows and knowing smile.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist,” he whispered with a grin.

“Whatever. Just let me in,” Timmy whispered back. Armie opened the door wide and Timmy slipped in.

“I never got a kiss goodnight,” he pouted.

“I’ll have to fix that, then, won’t I?” Armie smiled and grabbed Timmy by his waist, pulling him very close. “I’ve wanted to do this all night.”

Timmy snaked his arms around Armie’s neck as he went down for a kiss. Timmy could not imagine ever getting sick of the feel of Armie’s lips pressed against his. The kiss started sweet and soft, but grew more intense as their bodies pushed against each other. Timmy felt himself starting to get more frantic, but then Armie pulled away and whispered into his ear, “Meet me in my room in ten minutes.” 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Timmy brushed his teeth with the care typically taken with a car detailing. He took extra time brushing his tongue, then gargled with mouthwash. He sniffed his armpits, peed, and checked his watch… still two minutes to go. He tiptoed to his room to change into a t-shirt and sleep pants, slowly opened his door, and slipped out. He listened for a moment- the television was on in his parents’ room; that would muffle most noises. He walked quietly to Armie’s room to find the door already open a crack; Armie was lying on his bed, reading.

“Hey,” he whispered, unsure if he should enter. Armie put down the book and beckoned him in. Timmy closed and locked the door behind him then stood awkwardly, unsure of where to sit.

“So NOW you’re going to be shy?” Armie teased him. He scooted over on the bed to make room for Timmy, who smiled with relief and crawled in next to Armie.

“This is my new favorite spot in the house,” he said, nuzzling into Armie’s neck. “Long after you’re gone, I’ll lie here and think of you.”

Armie chuckled. “I like that. We better make lots of memories, then.”

They kissed with the beginnings of familiarity. Their lips and tongues were no longer strangers, and they were starting to know what the other enjoyed. Armie knew that nibbling on Timmy’s bottom lip would make him whimper; Timmy noticed that Armie liked when he was more aggressive and took the lead. They kissed languidly for several minutes, and Timmy could feel Armie’s body starting to respond to their activity. He slipped a hand between his legs and around his considerable bulge, and squeezed. Armie took a quick breathe and gave a groan.

“Fuck, Tim. Maybe we should stop…”

“Mmm mmm. No way,” he pulled away and looked into Armie’s baby blues. “Let me see it, Armie. Please.” He gave Armie his best puppy-dog eyes. “I’m ready for it. How scary can it be?”

Armie laughed. “You’re an idiot. It’s not scary; it’s just your first time, right? I want to make sure you’re ready.”

Timmy surged up and bit Armie on his ear. “You’re the idiot. I’ve BEEN ready. I was BORN ready!” Timmy began nibbling on Armie’s ear in earnest, gently licking and nuzzling. He felt Armie wilt, his body squirming with desire.

“Okay, okay, you win!”

Timmy sat up, grinning in triumph. “Release the Krakken!” he giggled.

Before Armie could change his mind, Timmy climbed onto his lap, his legs straddling Armie just under his hips. He lifted his t-shirt and began kissing his muscular, hairy belly, taking little laps at his belly button. Armie pushed his head deep into his pillow and gave a hum.

Timmy took his time, relishing the fact that he finally had permission to enjoy every inch of Armie’s glorious body. When he got to his shorts, he had some trouble with the button and Armie took over, undoing it. He started to push them down, but Timmy stopped him.

“I want to do it,” he insisted.

He scooted down on Armie’s legs, so he was sitting on his knees. Armie helped out by lifting up his ass, and Timmy oh-so-slowly pulled his shorts down, inch by inch, enjoying the sight of his dark blond pubic hair coming into view. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose into the thatch of hair.

‘”Mmmm. You smell delicious,” he murmured, and Armie nudged him with his hips.

“Get on with it, you goof!” Armie’s dick was growing uncomfortably hard, and he was starting to imagine Tim’s mouth on it. He was ready to get this show on the road.

“Impatient, are we?” Timmy grinned, and returned to the task of pulling off Armie’s shorts. He gave a final tug, and Armie’s cock finally sprang free. Timmy immediately wrapped his hand around the beautiful, fleshy thing.

It was large, that was true, but it was also very well-proportioned to Armie. Long and thick, but not intimidatingly so. It felt hot and firm in his hand, but also soft like satin. Timmy’s hand _just_ made it all the way around; his middle and index fingers barely touching his thumb. He gave it a tentative tug and Armie groaned appreciatively.

Encouraged by this noise, Timmy pulled a few more times, but then stopped. This wasn’t what he wanted to do…he licked his lips as he regarded Armie’s erection.

“I want to suck you off, Armie, but I’ve never done it before,” he said a little tentatively.

Armie chuckled. “Just don’t use your teeth too much, and it will be incredible. I’m so turned on right now, babe, that just the thought of being in your mouth could make me come.”

Timmy nodded, then situated himself on his stomach, laying between Armie’s legs. He took his hard cock with one hand and experimented with a firm lick from the base to the top. He tasted surprisingly good- salty and earthy. Timmy loved it, and it was obvious by his heavy breathing that Armie was enjoying himself, as well.

Next, Timmy licked once around the head, getting a taste of the pre-cum that had leaked out. Another new taste: briny, with an almost chemical-like aftertaste. Not bad. He swirled his tongue around and around, feeling Armie squirm and enjoying the feeling of sexual power that he was getting from this act.

He was feeling more comfortable and decided to take the plunge. He gripped Armie’s cock in one hand, then slipped his mouth as far down as he could, pressing his tongue against his length. He heard Armie moan, and he slid his mouth up again. He couldn’t fit even half into his mouth at once, but he knew from watching videos to use his hand to supplement what his mouth couldn’t do. He bobbed his head on Armie’s cock, trying to take more and more in with each plunge, all while attempting not to choke or let his teeth get in the way. It might be his first blow-job, but he still wanted it to be good.

Armie could barely believe the sight of Timmy between his legs with his cock in his mouth. He held on, not wanting to come immediately, and was pleasantly surprised at how adept the novice boy was at sucking him off. He watched as Timmy’s gorgeous chocolate curls began to bob up and down, feeling the warm heat of his mouth wrapped tight around him. After a few incredible minutes of this, he felt his orgasm surging forward, powerful and unstoppable, so he pulled away, not wanting to come in Timmy’s mouth the first time. Timmy whined, and tried to follow him with his mouth, but Armie was already coming. Timmy watched in awe, keeping his hand wrapped around his cock, feeling it pulse as it expelled copious amounts of come all over Armie’s stomach.

Timmy wiped his mouth with his free hand and couldn’t help but stare at Armie. He had never seen him this way- sexually spent, all his defenses down. His face was flush and he was breathing heavily. He was so beautiful and more human than Timmy had ever seen him before. He was so moved by Armie’s vulnerability in that moment, that he reached up and kissed him passionately, not caring that he was smearing Armie’s release all over both their stomachs. He wanted Armie to know how much this meant to him….how much ARMIE meant to him.

Armie returned the kiss with adoration, then whispered into Timmy’s ear, “Thank you. That was incredible. I loved it.”

Timmy smiled into his eyes. “I loved it, too. I can’t wait to do more.”

And all the possibilities of ‘more’ lingered between them.


	11. Opening Night, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have their first week as a couple, and it's Timmy's opening night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was supposed to end with some smut, but it was getting lengthy, so I decided to chop the chapter into two parts...sorry! But I will post part 2 very soon. Promise!
> 
> As always, I am super appreciative of all kudos and comments! Love you all xoxoxo

Chapter 11

Opening Night- Part 1

7/9 - 7/12/2019 

Timmy and Armie’s first week of dating was mostly an exercise in finding stolen moments to be together. They still had opposing schedules during the day- Armie had rehearsal until 3 or 4; Timmy usually didn’t get home until after 6. They tried to meet for lunch once, but the logistics were too complicated to make the little time they had together worth it. They had dinner together every night with Timmy’s parents, but had decided through an unspoken agreement to keep things mostly platonic between them in front of the parental unit- no kissing, no touching, and definitely no suggestive comments. There were a few quick kisses in the kitchen and bathroom when they were alone, but they were depressingly infrequent. Even when they watched television at night together, apart from their feet touching on the couch, they kept away from each other. Timmy did not want to give his parents any reason for another awkward “talk.”

But after his parents went to bed, Armie continued to leave his door slightly ajar, and Timmy would, every night, slip through the entrance and into his bed. It was his very favorite part of the day- the moment that he crawled next to Armie’s warm body, smelling his sexy, musky scent, then nuzzling up into his chest as Armie wrapped his strong arms around Timmy’s smaller body. Timmy could LIVE in that moment for the rest of his life. Armie would hold him, and they would finally get a chance to kiss and talk about the things that really matter…. and then kiss some more.

Apart from a few hasty late-night and morning hand jobs, they kept any new sexual exploration to a minimum during the week. Armie had to get up early for rehearsal each morning, and Timmy was in his last week of rehearsals before his play opened for three performances on Friday. They each had to be on top of their game and well-rested.

Timmy’s dress rehearsal went late Thursday night, and by the time he got home at 8, his family had already eaten dinner. He kissed his parents hello, and gave a quick look around their apartment.

“He’s reading in his room,” his mom said with a smile.

Timmy flushed at how obvious he must have been. His mom sat down at the kitchen table.

“Come, sit and talk for a minute,” she said to her son, patting the chair next to her. Timmy rolled his eyes but took a seat.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man,” his mom teased. “Tell me how things are going with you and Armie. You seem very comfortable with each other.”

Timmy squirmed in his seat, wishing he could change the subject. He had always been very open with his parents about his relationships, but it was different with Armie. He knew his parent were not thrilled that they had gone on a date, which made it awkward enough. But the fact that he was falling so hard and so fast for Armie made it twice as difficult to speak about.

“Things are good. I mean, he’s a great guy…”

Timmy hoped that he could get away with such a vague answer, but his mom was not going to let him off the hook.

“I agree, Timmy- Armie is smart and sweet and considerate. I knew that BEFORE you went on a date with him. I want to know how things are between the two of you. Was it just a DATE, or are you DATING? And yes, I am being nosy, but I’m your mom, and you are both living under my roof, so I think I have a right to know.” She raised her eyebrows with a look that said, ‘and you better give me an honest answer.’

Timmy sighed. What could he say? He and Armie hadn’t really had the relationship talk yet; they had just sort of fallen into a comfortable routine. He realized that he considered Armie his boyfriend; but did Armie feel the same? He didn’t know, and he knew that he really needed to find out.

“We haven’t really said yet, mom. We had a great first date, and we enjoy each other’s company. Can’t that be enough?”

His mom regarded Timmy carefully, seeming to look into his very soul the way only a mother can do.

“If it’s enough for you, baby, then it is enough. But you better figure that out. It seems like maybe the two of you need to have a conversation about this…right?” She stood up to let Timmy know the discussion was over.

“Right,” he replied, leaning down to give his diminutive mom a hug. He turned to leave, but his mom but cut him off.

“And Timmy? I know that you’re sleeping in Armie’s room. Please be safe.”

Timmy flushed again. “We are, mom. Love you.”

A few minutes later, he was snuggling up close to Armie, the stress of his day and the talk with his mom falling away. He gave Armie a tight hug, but then sat up to look at him, face-to-face. Armie gazed back at him, smiling, but then look puzzled.

“Is everything ok, Tim? Trust me, I love looking at you, but I feel like something is on your mind?”

Timmy bit his lower lip, thinking. He sighed. “What are we, Armie? I mean, are we dating, or just hanging out? I’m fine with whatever…I don’t want to pressure you or anything. Like, are we…”

Armie put a hand over Timmy’s mouth. “Tim, it’s ok. We can talk about it; you don’t have to freak out.”

Timmy licked Armie’s palm; Armie laughed and pulled his hand away and wiped it on Timmy’s sleeve. “You little shit. Ok. Let’s talk.”

Armie sat up in bed and looked expectantly at Timmy. Timmy looked back at him the same, waiting.

“Oh! You want ME to start this conversation. Alright, I see how it is,” Armie smirked a little, then pressed his lips together, thinking. “Well, I guess…I guess I think of you as my boyfriend. What do you think of that?”

Timmy gave Armie a relieved smile. “You do? Well, then I do, too.”

Armie put his arms around Timmy and pulled him close. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Boyfriend.” Timmy giggled and rested his head on Armie’s shoulder. He mumbled into his neck, “My mom knows I’m sleeping in here.”

Armie pulled back in alarm. “She does? Was she pissed? Should you go back to your room?”

“No, no. It’s ok. She just told me to be safe. Again.”

Armie shook his head in disbelief. “How are your parents so fucking cool? You have no idea how lucky you are. My parents would have literally kicked me out of our home if I had a boy spend the night in my bed.”

Armie had briefly mentioned his parents in the past, but this was the most he had said about their conservative views.

“I’m sorry, Armie. Do they know that you’re gay?”

Armie nodded sadly. “They do. I came out to them about six years ago. It took my mom a year before she spoke to me again. I just started speaking to my dad last year, but it’s always very superficial. They never ask about my love life, or really anything much outside of our family and my work. It’s definitely a ‘don’t-ask, don’t-tell’ situation.”

Timmy couldn’t imagine growing up in that kind of household. It really made him appreciate the liberal views of his parents, and the open, trusting home they had created for him and Pauline. He was glad he got to share his family with Armie, if only for six weeks.

Timmy was just starting to drift off to sleep, when Armie whispered one last thing in his ear. “If I don’t see you in the morning, break a leg tomorrow. I am so fucking excited to see you tomorrow night. You are going to be incredible.”

Timmy burrowed deeper into Armie, feeling happier and more fortunate than he ever had before.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Armie, Nicole and Marc met Pauline, who had driven in from Brooklyn, at the school auditorium; they had arrived early to secure good seats. Armie was immediately taken by the resemblance of Pauline to her mother, and smiled when she displayed the same smart-ass attitude as her brother. They found seats in the middle of the third row; Armie sat on the end, next to Pauline. She dipped her chin at the large bouquet of flowers that Armie was holding for Timmy. “Nice. Those will make him _very_ happy,” she said with a smile.

Armie had no idea what Timmy had told Pauline about him, but it was obvious that she wasn’t in the dark. She had looked him up and down when they met, and nodded approvingly. Like the rest of her family, she was friendly and very easy to talk to. She asked Armie about California, his program, and the play he was working on. He found out that she was a dancer and actress, and that she split her time between Brooklyn and Paris. They were enjoying their conversation when the lights went down.

Armie sat entranced for the entire performance. He had seen a bit of Timmy’s monologue the week before and had been blown away. But he was, unbelievably, even better tonight. The entire cast was incredible…by far the best high school play Armie had ever seen….and Timmy shined the brightest. He shed every ounce of sweet awkwardness that WAS Timmy, and was taken over completely by the crass, blue-collar anger of Stanley Kowalski. Armie was humbled by the performance; he knew that his own acting didn’t come close to the skill he was seeing on stage that night. He truly felt like he was watching a star in the making.

The play ended, and the auditorium erupted in a thunderous applause and a standing ovation, with Armie clapping the hardest. They came out for three curtain calls before the cheering finally abated. Armie and Timmy’s family went to wait for him outside of the actor’s dressing rooms, chatting excitedly about what an incredible play it had been. After several minutes, Timmy finally emerged from the dressing room.

Armie bounded up to him, and wrapped him tight in his arms. “That was incredible. I am so fucking proud of you,” he murmured into Timmy’s curls.

Timmy returned the embrace, but then pulled away a moment later. “People are going to see, Armie…” he started.

Armie refused to let him go, pulling him in even tighter.

“I don’t care anymore, Tim. I only care about you.” They embraced for a few more seconds, then Armie let him go to give him the flowers and receive congratulations from his family. Timmy couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. He dragged Armie over to meet the other members of the cast. His joy was contagious, and Armie felt himself smiling widely as Timmy introduced him as his boyfriend. Armie took dozens of pictures of Timmy with his friends. Even Lola, who was also in the cast, came over and gave Timmy a quick hug and congratulations.

A few minutes later, they were interrupted by Timmy’s dad.

“Timmy, there’s someone here who wants to meet you.” Timmy looked up curiously at two middle-aged men talking with Nicole. He followed his dad over to where they were standing, with Armie close behind.

“Timmy, these are my friends, Brian and Peter. Brian is an agent and Peter is a producer. They came to see you tonight,” Marc said with a slightly raised eyebrow, as if to communicate to Timmy ‘these are important people; be on your best behavior.’

“Nice to meet you both,” Timmy said, holding out his hand to shake.

Brian spoke first. “That was an incredible performance, Tim. Very impressive. You’re a natural on the stage.”

Timmy glowed with gratitude. “Thank you so much. I had a really supportive cast, and a great director.”

Peter chimed in. “You have a really strong stage presence. It’s quite stunning for someone so young.” Timmy smiled again.

“So,” Brian continued, “your father told us that you don’t have an agent right now. I have a few projects that I think you might be perfect for. A recurring role on an hour-drama, and a lead role in production here on Broadway. What do you think?”

Timmy glanced at his father, unsure of what to say. “I think that sounds amazing! Dad…?”

His father nodded. “That sounds really great, Brian. Let’s set up a meeting next week.”

“Perfect!” Brian suddenly noticed Armie, who was hanging back. “Is this your summer house guest?”

“Oh, yes! Sorry…Armie, this is Brian Swardstrom and Peter Spears. Brian and Peter, this is Armie Hammer. He’s here for the visiting actors program from Los Angeles.” Armie felt himself being appraised by the two of them during the introduction; he hoped that he had whatever it was they seemed to be looking for. They exchanged pleasantries and said their good-byes. Timmy hugged several of the other cast members, and they left to get some dinner.


	12. Opening Night, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Timmy's opening night, in more ways than one.
> 
> Yeah, I said it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As my smut chapters always are, this chapter was a labor of hard love. Hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> As always, thank you for the kudos and comments. KEEP THEM COMING...I LIVE for them!
> 
> xoxox

Chapter 12

Opening Night, Part 2

7/12/2019

The group of five walked through the streets of New York, talking and laughing loudly in an obviously celebratory mood. Timmy felt awash with pride and surrounded by love; he never wanted this night to end. He lingered at the back of the group, and when Armie slowed his steps to walk with him, Timmy grabbed his sleeve and stopped walking. Armie smiled at him, puzzled.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Never better,” Timmy answered, with a happy grin, “Hey, I wanted to ask you something. My mom and dad are meeting friends for drinks after dinner. So we have the place to ourselves. I was thinking, maybe tonight we could use the privacy to, you know….”

He looked at Armie with a shy smile, hoping that Armie wasn’t going to make him actually finish the thought. He needn’t have worried.

“Are you sure? We’ve only been dating a week, Tim. I don’t want to rush you into anything,” Armie answered with knitted eyebrows.

Timmy’s face fell. “Do you not want to?”

Armie huffed a laugh. “Are you kidding? No, Tim, that’s not it at all. Believe me, when you’re ready, I’m ready.”

Timmy gave a satisfied grin. “Well that settles it, then. I’m ready.” And he turned to catch up with his family. Armie shook his head with a smile, caught up to Tim in two long steps, and took his hand. They walked the rest of the way to the restaurant with their fingers laced together.

After dinner, Timmy and Armie hugged Pauline goodbye before she drove headed to Brooklyn. As she embraced Timmy, she whispered in his ear, “I like Armie a lot. He’s a keeper.” Timmy beamed in agreement. Nicole and Marc left to meet their friends, leaving Armie and Timmy alone.

“So, do you want to go out more, or are you ready to head home?” Armie asked.

Timmy raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? No, I don’t want to go out more. I want to be alone with my boyfriend in my bed, like, immediately.”

Armie grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that. Let’s go.”

Back at the apartment, Timmy foraged through the refrigerator and found two beers near the back. He opened them both and gave one to Armie, who took it with a playful leer.

“Are you trying to get me drunk and into bed, Mr. Chalamet? Because, it just might work.”

Timmy wedged himself between Armie’s long legs and snaked one arm around his waist. “Might?”

Armie leaned down and gave him a soft kiss. “Probably.”

The space between them crackled with electricity. They hadn’t been alone in the apartment together since they started dating, and Timmy’s mind began to swim with the possibilities. He took a large swig of his beer, grabbed Armie’s hand, and dragged him out of the kitchen.

“Come on; I’m sick of not being in bed with you.”

Armie barked with laughter at that. “Alright then; let’s go!”

Armie locked the door, just in case, and turned to look at Timmy, already lying on the bed. His breath caught at the beauty on display before him. Tim’s face was glowing with happiness; he had an arm tucked under his head and his legs crossed at his knees; his soft curls a lovely mess on Armie’s pillow, his lips parted and ready to be devoured. Armie felt himself stirring already, his jeans growing tighter. He wanted this boy more than any other thing he’d ever wanted in his life. He wondered, as he often did, how he was going to give him up at the end of the summer, but he quickly shook off the thought. He had more important matters to tend to at the moment. He wanted to make this night perfect for Tim.

Armie resisted his primal urge to crawl onto Timmy and maul him like an animal. Instead, he gently scooted Timmy over and lay next to him. He put a hand on his chin and started giving him light kisses. Timmy wasn’t having any of it; he suddenly swung himself on top of Armie, grinding down onto his groin. 

"Better," he said with a wicked grin, leaning down to take Armie’s mouth like he owned it. Timmy’s desire was painfully evident to Armie, and his promise to himself to take things slow evaporated with each thrust of Timmy’s tongue.

Timmy paused in his assault on Armie’s mouth to pull off his t-shirt; Armie quickly followed suit, eager to feel the warm expanse of Timmy’s skin on his own. As soon as Timmy’s chest was bare, Armie’s lips were seeking his nipples, his hands exploring the plains of his back.

“Mmm, my favorite,” he murmured in-between nibbles. Timmy tilted his head back with a soft whimper, letting Armie get his fill. Armie’s mouth and teeth on his nipples were his first, and his back arched at the unexpected pleasure of the sensation, his hips digging into Armie’s increasingly hard cock.

“Tickles,” he breathed. Armie couldn’t take it anymore- he lifted Timmy up, tossed him onto the bed with a growl, and knelt between his legs. He had to get into Timmy’s jeans right now. Timmy gave a startled giggle and lifted his hips to assist Armie in his mission to rid Timmy of his clothing. Armie pulled them off in one quick motion, throwing them carelessly onto the floor; his own jeans quickly followed.

They laid together, completely skin-to-skin for the first time. Armie’s breathe shuddered as their erections rubbed together; he felt like this could be enough for him, but he also wanted so much more. He felt Timmy trembling underneath him.

“Is this ok? Are you ok?” he asked, breathlessly.

Timmy nodded quickly. “Me, ok.”

Armie held him tight, feeling every inch of their bodies converging. He brought his mouth to Timmy’s, tracing his lips with the tip of his tongue, then working his way down his throat and chest, then moving on to his lean belly. Timmy’s body hummed with need; he raked his hands through Armie’s hair as he explored further south.

Armie took Timmy’s beautiful cock in his hand, and licked from base to tip. Timmy let out an debauched, “Fuck, Armie. Feels so good…”

Armie reached a long arm across Timmy’s chest, opening the drawer to his nightstand and pulling out the lube that Timmy had found earlier that week. He grabbed an extra pillow that had been on the floor and glanced up at Timmy.

“I’m just going to put you into a more comfortable position,” he said, tucking the pillow under Timmy’s hips. Timmy nodded quickly; he was game for whatever Armie thought was best.

Once he had Timmy situated, he returned his attention to below his waist. He coated the fingers of one hand generously with lube, and took Timmy’s cock in the other. First taking Timmy fully in his mouth, then slowly circled his hole with a slick finger, he relished the sounds of pleasure he was hearing from above. Timmy gripped the sheets with his fists, his hips starting to move on their own.

“I’m not going to last if you keep doing that, Armie!” Timmy panted out.

Armie pulled off and chuckled. “Ok, one thing at a time.” He returned his attention fully and entirely to Timmy’s warm entrance, stroking it with more pressure until Timmy groaned and lifted his hips to chase his touch, drawing Armie’s finger deeper. Armie dipped his finger in further, breaching his ring of muscle. He slowly pressed in, further and further, until he was knuckle-deep.

“Is that ok?” he checked in with Timmy.

Timmy nodded desperately. “More, please!”

Armie ventured a glance at his boyfriend; he looked unbelievably erotic, laid out unclothed with his hips in the air, clutching the sheets, pleading for more. Armie wanted to devour him whole, but knew he was doing it right, taking his time opening Timmy up slowly. He pushed his finger fully in, then crooked it a bit towards Timmy’s belly. The movement made Timmy whimper in pleasure and writhe on the bed. Armie took this as a go-ahead, and he let Timmy know what he was doing. “I’m adding a second finger, baby. Let me know if it hurts at all, alright?” 

He worked on opening up Timmy with two fingers; Timmy began to moan and move his hips, trying to fuck himself harder on Armie’s fingers. Armie responded by scissoring his fingers more, then pressing them as far as he could into Timmy. He knew that he had hit Timmy’s sweet spot when he suddenly yelled out, “Fuck, Armie!”

Armie chuckled softly. “That felt good, did it?”

Timmy gripped Armie’s bicep in need. “I want more, Armie. Please. I think I’m ready...”

That was all the permission Armie needed. He reached into his drawer, pulling out a condom, ripping it open and quickly pulling it on. He coated himself liberally with more lube as Timmy watched on, licking his lips in nervous anticipation. He climbed between Timmy’s legs and pulled them up over his shoulder. Their eyes met, and Timmy gave a little nod.

This was the moment they had both been waiting for; Armie ached to be inside Timmy. He laid his dick against Timmy’s hole, rubbing it up and down a few times, just to hear Timmy whimper. He smiled and then gently started to press in, sighing as his tip breached Timmy’s entrance, still surprisingly tight. Timmy inhaled sharply, and Armie paused.

“No, no, keep going,” Timmy begged.

Armie pushed his hips into Timmy, watching as his dick slowly disappeared into Timmy’s tight heat. It felt unbelievably good, and he had to resist the urge to thrust harder. He glanced at Timmy, and gasped when he saw that Timmy has tears streaming down his face. He quickly pulled out and took Timmy in his arms.

“Baby, baby, I’m so sorry…”

Timmy shook his head. “No, I’m ok. It just was a little uncomfortable. I didn’t want you to stop!”

Armie held him tighter. “You were more than uncomfortable. You weren’t ready. That was totally my fault. I should have been more careful.” They lay for a few seconds until Timmy started to squirm.

“Armie, I’m serious. I am ok; I didn’t want you to stop.” He looked pleadingly into Armie’s eyes. Armie thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you trust me?”

Timmy nodded his head quickly. “Of course I do.”

Armie kissed the top of his head, and ducked down back between Timmy’s legs. He lay on stomach and slid his hands under Timmy’s ass cheeks.

“What are you do…oh!” Timmy yelped as Armie pressed his flat tongue against Timmy’s hole. “Oh my god, don’t stop doing THAT!” he giggled.

Armie decided that this had been a smart way to proceed, and began to burrow deeper into Timmy, delighting in his squirms beneath him. He felt Timmy relaxing and slowly opening wider to him as Armie’s tongue explored his salty depths. When he felt Timmy writhing against his face, he knew he was ready.

Armie returned to his post between Timmy’ s thighs. This time, he slid into Timmy much easier. He never took his eyes off of him, making sure he was ok as he pushed in, inch by excruciating inch, but Timmy breathed through it and took him well. Beads of sweat were pilling on Timmy’s lip and brow, and he bit his lip a few times in discomfort, but he urged Armie on. 

Once Armie was all the way in, he paused, his heart beating into Timmy through his swollen cock. He had never felt a sensation like this before- Timmy was so hot and tight around him, it was as if he were completely physically connected to the boy. He had to take a few breathes to calm his body; he was incredibly close to coming already.

“You did it, baby. You took all of me,” he leaned down, murmuring into Timmy’s ear. “You good?”

“It was uncomfortable at first, but it feels good now. I feel like…like you’re a part of me.” Timmy stared up into Armie’s eyes. “I want to…” and he ventured a thrust of a hip. The sensation shot through Armie like an arrow.

“Fuck, ok!” Armie grinned, “Let me try…”

He gave a slow, returning push back into Timmy. Timmy groaned with pleasure. Having his vocal approval, Armie began to move into him, finding a rhythm. He let Timmy’s whimpers of pleasure dictate how fast he thrusted, and as he became louder, Armie’s hip moved quicker and harder. Eventually, he became a blur of pounding flesh, gripping Timmy's thighs tight as he plunged into him, again and again.

Armie didn’t worry too much if Timmy was enjoying what was happening; his cock was hard and leaking, and Timmy was gasping expletives into the pillow. He lifted a hand to touch Armie’s abs, contracting with the motion of fucking Timmy, then down to his own cock. Armie saw and wrapped his own hand around Timmy’s.

“I’m close, Armie…oh my god, you are fucking me so good,” Timmy panted, his movements jerky as he closed in on his orgasm. The words shot straight to Armie’s groin, and his pace quickened. He pounded into Timmy, his own sweat dripping into his eyes, blinding him. His fist pumped Timmy and he could tell he was close; suddenly, he heard Timmy’s breathe stutter and a stream of come came flooding out of his cock.

Armie gave a few more long, intense thrusts, then came hard into Timmy with a strangled cry. He held Timmy’s hips tight as he felt wave after wave of pleasure crashing into his lover. When he was knew he was spent, he fell onto Timmy, the two of them a sweaty mess of harsh breaths and pounding hearts.

He carefully pulled out of Timmy and removed the spent condom, tying it off and tossing it into the trash. He wrapped Timmy so tight in his arms.

“How was that? How are you feeling?” It had been so incredible for him; he hoped that it had been half as enjoyable for Tim.

Timmy burrowed his head deep in Armie’s embrace. He had just shared his body with Armie in way that felt so intimate and special; he felt closer to him in that moment that he had with another human in his entire life. He looked up into Armie’s concerned blue eyes and smiled.

“When can we do it again?”

Armie’s eyebrows shot up and he laughed. “Believe me, you’ll want some recovery time. But I am so happy that you enjoyed it. Because I did, too.”

They lay together for several more minutes, kissing languidly, their hands exploring each other’s bodies. Timmy’s head eventually cleared, and he realized that his parents could be home soon. He sat up, stretched his tired body, and looked down at his gorgeous, naked boyfriend.

“I’m going to jump in the shower before my folks get home. But thank you. I… I loved it.”

There was more he wanted to say, but he didn’t want to say it for the first time after sex. The respect and care Armie had shown him tonight, plus sharing in this intimate act with Armie confirmed what he had already suspected: he was in love with Armie, head over heels.


	13. The Cast Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy and Armie go to Timmy's cast party, and Armie meets another side of Timmy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short, fun chapter. I love love love Little Timmy Tim, so I had to include him in this fic. And of course, I have to have the boys getting drunk at a party in every one of my stories, so there is that.
> 
> Thank you for the love, comments, and kudos! They are so very appreciated!

Chapter 13

The Cast Party

7/13 - 7/14/2019

Armie was woken sometime in the earliest of morning hours by Timmy squirming uncomfortably next to him in his bed. He opened his eyes to find Timmy wide awake, his face contorted with distress.

“What’s going on, baby? Everything alright?”

Timmy twisted his body away from Armie, seemingly reluctant to express what the matter was. Armie leaned across Timmy’s body, switching on the bedside lamp, then sat up on his pillow to take a full appraisal of Timmy. Timmy sighed, knowing that Armie wouldn’t let up until he spoke.

“I’m just a little…you know…sore….”

He blushed furiously under Armie’s gaze. Armie let out a quick snort of laughter before he could catch himself; Timmy gave him a deathly glare of irritation infused with embarrassment, then turned his back to his boyfriend. Armie kissed his shoulder in apology.

“I’m so sorry, Tim; I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just… it is very normal. Let me get you something to soothe your pain? Please?”

Timmy wouldn’t turn around, but nodded in consent. Armie hopped up, pulled on some boxers, and left the room. He returned a few short minutes later, some pain killers and a washcloth in hand.

“Here, take these,” he handed the pills to Timmy, who swallowed them down gratefully. He crawled back into bed next to Timmy, lowered the sheets down to just below his ass, then pushed his legs apart a few inches with hand.

“What are you doing?” Timmy mumbled, but was in no way complaining.

“Shhhh. Just taking care of you. A very important part of you.” Timmy felt the warm washcloth slip between his legs, and he hummed at how pleasant it felt. Armie pressed a few times to make sure it was reaching everywhere it needed to be.

“How’s that feel?” Armie asked, in between kisses to Timmy’s smooth, porcelain cheeks.

“Mmm…so good….” he muttered, already half asleep. Armie rubbed his back gently, until he heard soft snores coming from Timmy. He removed the washcloth and threw it on the floor, turned off the light, and fell back into a sound, content sleep of his own.

The boys slept in until after ten Saturday morning. Timmy had made the executive decision to stay in Armie’s room for the night. His parents knew he was sleeping in there already…why keep up the charade of returning to his room before sunrise? However, despite his confidence when making the decision at 2am the night before, he was suddenly bashful when it was time to get up for breakfast.

“You go first. Please?” he pleaded with Armie from the bed. Armie tugged Timmy closer to him. He had loved waking up to Timmy’s warm body pressed up against him more than he would have ever guessed.

“So, you’re asking me to not only leave my warm bed, but to leave you IN my bed? No way. If you’re in my bed, I’m not leaving it,” he teased, giving Timmy’s ear a lick.

“Ew, stop!” Timmy flicked away Armie’s tongue. “I’m serious, Armie! I have to be at the theater by noon. We HAVE to get up!”

“Well, I have nowhere to be today, until I go to see my boyfriend’s show at 2. So why should I leave my bed?” Armie knew he was being a shit, but he also wasn’t ready to pull himself away from Tim’s body just yet. Timmy snuggled in closer to Armie, savoring the feel of his strong arms around Timmy’s narrow shoulders. He felt so safe, so content, so at-peace with the world. He could stay in bed for another minute or two….

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

“Timmy! It’s after 11…don’t you have to be at the auditorium by noon?” Timmy’s father’s voice boomed through the door. Timmy shot up in the bed like a jack-in-the-box. FUCK! They had fallen back asleep, and now he was late.

He leaned down and gave Armie, who was just starting to come to consciousness, a quick peck.

“I’m late! I’ll see you at the theater!” Timmy jumped out of bed, too panicked about being late to worry about his father knowing he had slept in Armie’s room, and ran out the door. Armie smiled to himself, pulling the blanket back over his shoulder. He still had two hours until he had to leave…

Armie went to see Timmy’s final shows, the Saturday and Sunday matinees. Timmy got, impossibly, even better with each show, the confidence in his performance turned into swagger on stage. Armie’s heart swelled with pride at how incredibly talented his boyfriend was. They didn’t go out to dinner Saturday night; Timmy was exhausted from his shows and (most likely an even bigger contributing factor) the previous night’s bedroom activities.

Sunday night was the cast party. Timmy reminded Armie over and over that he really didn’t have to go, that it would be okay if Armie decided to stay home or make his own plans. Armie was starting to suspect that maybe Tim didn’t WANT him to go. But Timmy assured him that that wasn’t the case…he just didn’t want his older boyfriend to feel obligated to hang out with a bunch of 16, 17, and 18 year-olds for a night. Armie stopped his fretting with a peck firmly on his lips, just to shut him up.

“I WANT to go, Tim. I promise! I want to get to know your friends. And I want to see fun-drunk Tim; just not belligerent, barfing-in-the-trash-can drunk Tim.” 

This seemed to satisfy Timmy, and he stopped warning Armie about the teenage debauchery that was sure to take place that night.

“I can’t wait,” Armie swore. “Now, let’s go home and take a quick nap. It seems that I’m going need to rest up to be able to keep up with you and your hard-partying cast mates.”

The boys napped (interrupted briefly by some heavy making out and light petting), showered, and dressed in their separate bedrooms, even though they had the house to themselves. They met in the living room, each assessing the others’ outfit. Armie’s look was classic and understated:-a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up, dark jeans, and dark black Berluti sneakers. Timmy’s look was trendier, in a fitted tee, black jeans, black hi-tops, and a black Calvin Klein leather bomber jacket. They sized each other up with grins on their faces.

Armie was the first to speak. “Wow, my boyfriend is a SNACK.” He stepped forward to wrap his arms around Timmy’s waist and nibble at his neck.

Timmy giggled. “And you look like quite the daddy tonight.”

Armie pulled back, his eye brows shooting to his hairline. “Daddy? DADDY? Oh, well, if that’s what you’re into...should I go get a cigar to accessorize?”

Timmy wrinkled his nose. “Oh yuck, no cigars. Come on, let’s do a shot and get out of here.” They walked to the kitchen, Timmy looking thoughtful.

“You KNOW…” he started, “I never thought about it, but yeah, I think the sugar daddy look might do it for me. Maybe you, in a suit, with a briefcase and a martini. Oh fuck, I’m getting hard thinking about it….”

Armie crowded him against the kitchen counter. “You better stop. You talking about getting hard is getting ME hard.”

They kissed lazily for several minutes until Timmy’s phone buzzed. He glanced down at it in his hand. “Oh shit, it’s Will, wondering where we are. We better go.”

Armie reluctantly pulled away; both boys adjusted themselves, noticed the other doing the same, and laughed. Armie reached over and pecked him on the cheek. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? I can’t wait to get you alone later…”

A subway ride and long walk later, the boys arrived at Timmy’s friend Ian’s brownstone on the Upper West Side. His parents apparently had made themselves scarce, entrusting the cast and crew of A Streetcar Named Desire with their home for the night. Armie followed Timmy up the steps, strains of Nicki Minah’s ‘Beez in a Trap’ vibrating through the windows. Timmy glanced back at Armie and grinned. This was his scene and he was excited to share it with Armie. He took Armie’s hand and pushed open the door; a wall of sound and smoke hitting them.

The hallway was empty but Timmy led the way to the kitchen, which was full of kids drinking and eating pizza. Timmy greeted everyone, and introduced Armie to anyone he had missed Friday night. Armie left to get them some beers from the keg in the hallway. As soon as he walked away, Timmy was surrounded by three girls from his school.

“So that’s your BOYFRIEND, Timmy? Wow, he is unbelievably hot!” gasped one of the girls.

“What? You think he’s too hot for me?” Timmy asked, pretending to be joking, but a little bit not.

“I think he’s too hot for any of us,” another girl giggled.

Before Timmy could respond, Armie returned with the beers. He handed Timmy one and cast a look at the group, all staring at him. “What?”

Timmy grabbed his arm. “Nothing; come on, gorgeous, let’s go find Will.”

He steered Armie to the next room, turning around on his way out and playfully sticking his tongue out at the girls.

They found Will a few rooms away, doing shots with a group of guys. They happily participated, and joined in on their boisterous debate about whether Aaron Judge was still worth 16 million a year, or if he was over-the-hill. Timmy was relieved that Armie seemed to like his friends and was having a good time. He was an extremely friendly guy; Timmy guessed that he would be comfortable in most social situations. The hours went by; the boys played drinking games and slowly got much drunker. At one point, Timmy started dancing in place while Armie was talking to some girls about his program; he tugged on Armie’s sleeve.

“Come on, I wanna dance,” he whined to Armie, trying to pull him away from the knot of people.

Armie reached down and gave him a kiss. “You go. I don’t dance.”

Timmy looked at him, aghast. “You don’t WHAT? Oh yes, you do! Come on, do another shot and dance with your boyfriend!”

Armie could see that drunk-Tim wasn’t going to let up. “Okay, get me a Kamikaze shot, and I’ll give you one dance. ONE! But it has to be to a song I know.”

Timmy grinned. “Deal!” and he ran off to fetch Armie a shot.

Timmy returned with the shots, and they walked over to the room that held the d.j. and dance floor. The room was exponentially louder than the rest of the party, and they boys had to shout to hear each other.

“I requested a song for you. An oldie…since you’re old!” Timmy yelled into Armie’s ear.

“What song…” Armie started to ask, when the first notes of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” came on. Armie grinned down at Timmy.

“I love this song!”

“I knew you would. You’re ancient! Come on, let’s dance!”

Armie let himself be led to the dance floor by Timmy. Timmy moved with incredible grace and rhythm on the dance floor, and luckily, Armie was adequately lubricated with alcohol to let his body move freely.

“You should dance more! You’re good!” Timmy yelled up to him.

“Stop lying,” Armie replied, but he gave a pleased smile.

A crowd of people had joined them on the dance floor, and one of them leaned over to Armie and shouted, “So, has he shown you his Little Timmy Tim dance moves yet?”

Armie looked over at Timmy, puzzled. Tim appeared to be mortified; he reached over and gave the boy a hard punch on the arm. “Shut the fuck up, Dave.”

Armie laughed. “Ok, I have to know, what the hell is Little Timmy Tim?”

The other kids in the group got wind of the conversation, and started chatting, “Timmy Tim! Timmy Tim! Timmy Tim!”

Timmy bent over, his arms over his head in embarrassment. “No, no, no, no! Not in front of my boyfriend!”

One of the girls put her arm around Timmy. “Come on, Timmy- if he likes you, then he needs to know! He’s going to find out eventually!”

Armie had stopped dancing, watching this all unfold. “Oh my god, Tim. You HAVE to tell me now!”

Timmy finally straightened, his face bright red. “Alright….I can’t tell you…but I’ll show you.”

The group cheered, and started chanting again, “Timmy Tim! Timmy Tim!” as Tim left the group to go talk to the d.j.

Armie figured he needed a drink for this, so he went to get a beer and wait for whatever the hell was going to happen next. He returned to the room with the d.j., but Tim had disappeared. He settled against a wall to sip his beer and wait.

The song that had been playing abruptly stopped, and a steady bass beat started booming through the speakers. Armie looked around, confused. The other kids in the room had cleared off of the dance floor, and were waiting expectantly around the perimeter. Armie walked closer to the dance floor to investigate, when Timmy suddenly appeared, an vision like something Armie had never seen before. He had changed from his black pants to sweat pants, with one leg pulled up to his knee. He had on a baseball cap, turned to the side, and the sleeves of his t-shirt were pushed up to his shoulders. Armie’s cock twitched. He looked….well… irresistibly fuckable.

He strutted out to the middle of the group, with a cockiness Armie had never seen him display before. He turned his cap to the other side and starting to rap and dance to the beat of the bass:

_I was talking Lil Timmy Tim_

_It’s time to do my dance_

_Timmy Tim pull up your pants_

_Voulez Vous coucher avec moi?_

_Oui, je suis from France_

_Little Timmy Tim_

_I am a boss_

_You really like my shirt? Should I take it off?_

_See me with my man and you know it’s getting cuddly_

_See me in the hallway and you know I hit my Dougie_

_Feel good music, I’m bringing it back_

_What’s wrong with that kid? Does he think he’s black?_

_Jump!_

Armie’s mouth hung open as he watched Tim’s performance. His rapping, his dance moves, his swagger… it was all so….so… Armie had to get this boy home and into his bed. Immediately.

The song ended and the room erupted in cheers. Timmy took a bow and glanced over at Armie with a blush and a grin, trying gauge his reaction.

Armie grabbed him by the arm, pulled him into the hallway, and pushed him against the wall, starting nuzzling his neck.

“You like?” Timmy gasped, as he tilted his back to give Armie more access.

“Oh, I like,” Armie growled in assent. He gnawed his way up Timmy’s throat, then licked into his waiting mouth. They devoured each other for several minutes in the darkened hallway, their bodies flush against each other, until Armie broke away.

“Let’s get out of here,” he breathed, “I need to fuck that sexy smirk right off of Little Timmy Tim’s face.”

And Little Timmy Tim agreed.


	14. The Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a lengthy chapter...sorry! 
> 
> A little smut, a tidbit of fluff, followed by quite a bit of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy that many of you love little Timmy Tim like I do! I loved reading all of your comments on the last chapter...keep them coming!
> 
> So appreciative of each of you!

Chapter 14

The Breakdown

7/14 - 7/27/2019

Timmy and Armie were far too wasted and horny to navigate the subway, so Armie called an Uber to get them home safely. Luckily, Uber drivers in New York are used to drunken backseat antics, as they could not keep their hands off of each other for the 20-minute ride. They stumbled out of the car at Timmy’s apartment, and Armie made a mental note to give the driver a good tip for keeping his mouth shut and eyes averted during their make-out session in his backseat.

Armie pulled a weaving Timmy aside before they went into the building. Timmy lunged at him, frustrated that their lips had been apart for a full two minutes, but Armie put a hand up to stop him.

“Baby, listen. Your mom made it clear to me last week that she doesn’t like you coming home drunk. You need to pull your shit together before we go upstairs.” 

Armie tried to sound stern- he did not need to get on Nicole’s bad side- but he was far too buzzed to have a real effect of Timmy. Timmy nodded solemnly at Armie, but then dissolved in giggles. He grabbed Armie by his belt loops and pulled him close.

“I’ll be good, I promise. If I make too much noise, you can spank me.” Timmy said this with a slurring snicker, but the words made Armie’s cock twitch with interest.

“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it,” he replied, low in Timmy’s ear, glancing up and down the street to make sure it was still empty. When he saw that they were alone, he pushed Timmy up against the side of the building and pressed their lips together hard. 

After a few minutes, Armie pulled away, breathless. “Fuck, I wish we had the house to ourselves. The things that I would do to you….”

“My parents are asleep. Come on! Armieeeee…..” Timmy’s hips began to pulse against Armie’s in a drunken attempt to find friction. Armie gripped them firmly to stop his shameless display.

“Behave yourself. Now let’s go upstairs, Timmy Tim. But be QUIET!”

They thankfully made it back to Armie’s room without waking Nicole and Marc- something of a miracle, considering Timmy’s exaggerated tip-toeing made more of a commotion than regular walking. Once they were safely ensconced in the bedroom, Armie turned on a fan to create some white noise, and to dissipate some of the heat in his room. Timmy had already toed off his sneakers and was making himself comfortable on Armie’s bed. The sweatpants that he still wore from the party left nothing to the imagination, and held no secrets about his current state of arousal. Armie’s mouth watered with anticipation at the sight of Timmy laid-out on his bed, looking up at Armie like a fallen angel, cast from heaven for having wicked thoughts. 

He smiled naughtily up at Armie. “Was I good….daddy?” 

Armie threw his head back with a laugh. “Oh fuck, are we doing THAT? You little brat; you know exactly what to say to get me going.” 

He crawled onto the bed next to Timmy and nuzzled into his neck. “Don’t start something you don’t know how to finish,” he muttered.

Timmy threw a leg over Armie’s thigh to pull him close. He was still drunk enough to have no inhibitions, and thoughts that had seemed interesting when he was sober were now irresistible. 

“Why? What are you going to do to me? Show me…daddy…” 

Armie pulled away and regarded Timmy for a beat, as if to decide if Timmy was serious or just playing around. Timmy nodded his head and licked his lips, encouraging him. Armie grinned and rolled over onto Timmy to straddle the boy.

“I’ll make you behave,” he growled. He grabbed and pinned Timmy’s arms above his head with one hand. Timmy gasped at the sudden rush of movement, and thrust his hips up to meet Armie’s. They let out a simultaneous groan as their stiffened cock rubbed together. Armie held down Timmy and crashed their mouths together, their kisses sloppy and wet, quickly growing in urgency. Timmy seemed especially worked up, weak from having the full attention of Armie’s lips and groin.

He suddenly pulled away and gasped, “Gonna come soon, Armie.”

Armie bolted up. “Don’t you dare come before I can taste your gorgeous cock in my mouth. I WILL spank you!” 

He scooted down between a giggling Timmy’s knees, quickly pulling off his sweats. Timmy’s dick sprang free, red and dripping, aching for attention. Armie wasted no time, taking it swiftly in his mouth, causing Timmy to let out a much-too-loud moan. Armie slapped his thigh, hard, and Timmy let out a snort, covering his mouth with a free hand. 

Armie began working Timmy’s cock with his skillful lips and tongue; in his inebriated state, Timmy had little control and thrust wantonly into Armie’s mouth. Armie gagged a bit, but kept going, sucking off Timmy so hard that Timmy pulled a pillow over his face to muffle his cries, repeating Armie’s name over and over. He thrust his hips, fucking Armie´s face fiercer and faster as his orgasm approached. With a final, wretched moan, he stiffened, releasing his load into Armie’s waiting mouth. Armie eagerly swallowed down his release, then collapsed on the bed next to Timmy, satisfied with his performance. 

Timmy’s eyes were half-closed in a post-orgasmic haze. He lazily turned to Armie, murmuring, “What about you?” 

Armie chuckled softly; Timmy was in no condition to help out with Armie’s hard-on. 

“It’s okay, baby. I can take care of myself. You just lie there, looking freshly fucked. Alright?” 

Timmy opened one eye and gazed at Armie. “You sure? I can help…” 

Armie kissed his temple. “You want to help? Take off the rest of your clothes and let me see you naked.”

“Too tired! You do it…” Timmy whined, his eyes falling shut again. Armie shook his head with a smile.

“You ARE a brat,” he muttered, pulling off Timmy’s t-shirt, then using his feet to push down his sweats the rest of the way. Timmy was soon completely naked, and Armie took the opportunity to just drink in the vision of him- his limbs, long and lean; his skin, white and smooth. His nipples were pink and erect from the cool breeze of the fan. His cock, pink and spent, was nestled in a small nest of brown pubic hair. Armie sighed; he was perfection in human form. 

Timmy started to snore, and Armie felt weird jacking off to an unconscious boyfriend. He grabbed the lube and went into the bathroom to make quick work of his hard-on. He thought about what it would be like to someday have Timmy laid out over his knee; to smack his ass until it turned red and raw. To tie his hands and make him beg for Armie’s dick. This was a fantasy that had lurked quietly in the corner of his brain until he had met Timmy. The boy brought out a side of him that had previously been unexamined- dormant and hidden. But oh, the things he wanted to do…. Armie suddenly came hard into his hand, the image of a bound Timmy in his mind. He cleaned up quickly, then returned to his room and shed his clothes to crawl into bed with his sleeping boyfriend. This was everything he wanted.

The next two weeks went by much too fast. Armie was immersed in rehearsals for his play; Timmy had gotten a part-time job as a bagger at a local grocer, and spent the rest of his time working on his college applications. He was applying to mostly East Coast schools- NYU and Columbia, Syracuse, Boston, and several more- but he was also considering applying to UCLA and USC. He hadn’t mentioned that to Armie yet; he didn’t want him to think that he was applying to those schools just to be close to him (an idea that did have a small grain of truth to it). 

They boys saw little of each other during the day, but were together every night. Some evenings they stayed home with Timmy’s parents; other nights they met Timmy’s friends out for dinner or to go see a movie. Armie still had not brought Timmy around to meet his friends from the program. Armie hadn’t offered, and Timmy hadn’t mentioned it. He made all kinds of excuses for Armie in his head, but he was starting to feel the beginning pricklings of resentment. He felt a little like Armie’s dirty secret; hidden away from his peers. How long could he keep this up for? There was only three more short weeks left in Armie’s stay.

Things came to a head during their third week of dating. It was a Wednesday night, and they were snuggled in Armie’s bed.

“Hey…so…um…” Armie started, speaking with obvious uncertainty. His uncharacteristic hesitancy caught Timmy’s attention; he sat up in bed and turned to look at Armie.

“What?” he asked impatiently, needing to know what it was that Armie was so reluctant to say. Armie took a deep breath, then spoke.

“So, Ben and Caleb are renting a house on Fire Island with a few other guys this weekend, and they asked me to go with them.” He looked at Timmy nervously, expecting the worst. Ben and Caleb were in Armie’s program, and were both gay and very good-looking. Ben was from Connecticut and had a ton of connections in New York. 

Timmy just stared at Armie, speechless. He finally summoned the courage to quietly ask, “Can I go, too?”

Timmy looked so miserable and pitiful, Armie almost backpedaled to say that didn’t actually want to go, after all. But, the reality was that he really DID want to go. He’d been hearing about the beaches and parties and sexual freedom of Fire Island since he was 18; this might be his only chance to experience it. He also was looking forward to just getting out of the city for a few nights. However, there was absolutely no way Armie could bring his 17-year old boyfriend to this weekend of alcohol-fueled debauchery.

He shook his head sadly. “Baby…”

“Never mind. Go. Have fun. It’s fine.” Timmy gave a tight, insincere smile. “I’m going to sleep now. ‘night.” 

He turned his back away from Armie, drawing the blanket up over his shoulders. Armie watched him for a few moments, wondering if he should attempt to continue the conversation. He finally decided that no good would come of it, and he switched off the light to sleep. 

The next day, neither boy brought up the trip, but the tension between them was palatable. Armie felt terrible; he had started to count down the days left in this summer with Timmy, and he didn’t want a single one of them marred with bad feelings. He vowed to make it up to Tim when he returned Sunday night.

Armie had plans to leave for his trip directly from his rehearsal Friday afternoon, so he had to say his goodbye to Timmy Friday morning. They lay in bed together, unclothed, for a long time, neither willing to be the one to initiate their separation. Armie had his arms wrapped tight around Timmy, and gently drew pictures on his naked back. He bent his head down and whispered in Timmy’s ear, “Guess what I am writing.”

His fingers danced across Timmy’s back in a deliberate pattern. He paused to give Timmy a moment to think.

“Was it ‘Tim?’ he guessed.

Armie’s face bloomed with a fond smile. “That was easy. What about this?” He fingers flicked swiftly across Timmy’s spine.

“Easy. That was a heart.” 

“Ok, let me do a longer one.” Armie took his time, using one finger to trace out an entire phrase.

Timmy hugged Armie close, thinking. Finally he took a guess. “Did you write, ‘I will miss you?”

“I did, and I will.” He leaned down until his lips touched Timmy’s. He delivered a soft kiss tinged with reassures that all would be well until his return. 

Armie left for rehearsal after a late breakfast, and Timmy had work until dinner. He went to Will’s that night to get his mind off of Armie’s absence, and was mostly successful. But when Saturday morning arrived, the day loomed ahead, large and empty, like a dark, abandoned warehouse. He grabbed his phone and re-read his texts from Armie from the night before. They were brief- a few lines of “Having fun” and “Miss you lots”- and did nothing to relieve Timmy of his melancholy.

He wandered the house all day like a lonely phantom. Nothing kept his interest, and he mindlessly went from bed to couch to kitchen table, then back to the couch to search irritably through his Netflix list. His parents returned home in the late afternoon from errands, his mom immediately noticing the gloom enveloping him. She settled next to him on the couch, capturing him in her arms like a small child.

“He’ll be home tomorrow, Timo. I know you miss him, but don’t let his absence ruin your weekend.”

Her maternal sympathy was enough to release the tears that had been threatening to spill all morning. He snuffled and wiped them away, embarrassed.

“It’s stupid, I know, mom. He’s only gone for the weekend. But we have so few weekends left, and we’ll never get this one back…”

She kissed the top of his head, her hurt breaking a little to see her baby boy hurt so badly, but she would never let that show. “Come on, let’s order some Chinese food and watch Good Omens. That will get your mind off of what’s-his-name.” 

Timmy hiccupped a snort at her attempt at distracting him, then shot her a grateful smile. “Sounds good, mom.”

Nicole’s tactics to keep Timmy’s mind off of Armie worked until it was time for bed- alone, again. Timmy crawled despondently into his own bed and couldn’t stop himself from angrily obsessing about Armie’s weekend. What had Armie done all day; what he was doing at that very moment? What had he worn last night; what he was wearing RIGHT NOW (was he sleeping naked, like he usually did?)? Who had he talked to; who had made him laugh; who had he FLIRTED with??

Timmy had tried so hard to be cool about this trip; to not be the clingy, needy boyfriend. But resentment was starting to ooze through his veins, cold and poisonous. Armie and Timmy had only two weekends left after this one; their time together was so precious, and here was Armie, sacrificing one of them to party with people he barely knew. All these thoughts and questions put a painful knot in his stomach. He was sure he would never be able to sleep. He needed to feel close to Armie if he was ever going to get through this night.

Timmy crept quietly to Armie’s room, opening the door and pushing aside his feelings of guilt at intruding on Armie’s private space (again). As soon as he was inside the room, he felt better. He could almost taste Armie’s presence, and the entire room was overflowing with memories of their time together. He lay on the bed and buried his face in Armie’s pillow, inhaling the scent imprinted there until his lungs were achingly full. He knew that this was the best and only therapy for his Armie-induced depression, and he made the impulsive decision to embrace it completely. He quickly stripped bare, turned off the light, and crawled between Armie’s cool sheets.

The erotic familiarity of being in Armie’s bed, coupled with Timmy’s intense longing for his boyfriend, resulted in the almost inevitable conclusion of a powerful hard-on. Timmy grabbed the bottle of lube and a few tissues, and took hold of his needy cock. He made fast work of it, using hard, almost angry strokes, then coming quickly, with Armie’s name on his lips. 

He cleaned up swiftly, then buried his face in Armie’s pillow with a sob. The wank had only served to exacerbate his hunger for Armie, and his intense feelings of loneliness and abandonment. And, most of all, the UNFAIRNESS of the situation. He clutched Armie’s second pillow as small comfort, and cried himself to sleep. 

Timmy was in a deep slumber when he felt something warm and solid slide into the bed next to him. He came to consciousness slowly, reluctant to abandon the safe vestiges of sleep. A low rumble came from close by….something like a chuckle 

“Tim, baby. It’s me. What are you doing naked in my bed? Not that I’m complaining….” 

An arm slid around Timmy’s waist; he opened one eye, then another. It was so dark, and…what?

He bolted up, Armie’s grasp falling away. “Armie? What are you doing here??” 

Timmy reached over and turned on the light, revealing a very real and exhausted-looking Armie.

Armie grinned sheepishly. “I…I missed you. Friday night was fun, but the whole scene was a meat market. To be honest, it made me uncomfortable. I just really wanted to be with you. Is that…is that ok?” Armie suddenly looked very unsure of himself.

Timmy felt overwhelmed with emotion. All of his feelings from earlier, coupled with his wonder and relief at Armie’s return, were too much for him to bottle up.

“Of course, it’s ok…I’m so happy you’re back,” he breathed, overcome with sheer joy. 

Armie gratefully took him in his arms; Timmy returned his embrace, but could no longer stop the tears from flowing freely from his eyes. Armie tightened his hold.

“It’s alright; I’m here. I’ve got you…” he whispered into Timmy’s ear.

Timmy took a deep breath, trying to calm his storming emotions. “I…I don’t want you to go…” he choked out between sobs. 

Armie rocked him, soothing him like a baby in his arms. A few stray tears escaped from his eyes, as well. Timmy could barely hear his next words, uttered so softly into Timmy’s hair.

“I love you so much. I don’t want to go, either.”


	15. The Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie has returned from his weekend away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a tough chapter to write. I'm back at work and have a million distractions in my real life, but I (finally) finished it. Sorry for the delay!
> 
> Thank you, as always, for all your comments and Kudos. And thank you to my fellow sprinters on Discord who helped force me to get this f'ing chapter done. xoxoxx
> 
> Also, happy birthday to our gorgeous, soft, sweet boy, Armie Hammer!

Chapter 15

The Surrender

7/28/19 

Armie slept hard that night, with Timmy tucked safely under one arm. He fell asleep quickly, exhausted from his excursion spanning the southern shore of Long Island the night before: ferry, to train, to subway, followed by a ten minute walk. Then, finally, a grateful crawl into his bed.

He had initially planned on dropping off his bag in his room before sneaking into Timmy’s, but instead found his boyfriend, naked and dead to the world, snuggled in-between his sheets. He didn’t want to think what emotional turmoil must have led Timmy to find solace in Armie’s room, and instead focused on the intense, unexpected joy that came from this discovery.

Armie woke first the next morning, giving him time to marinate in the warmth of Timmy’s sleeping form pressed against his chest. He dipped his nose gently into Timmy’s curls, inhaling his favorite scent: early morning Tim. Even Tim’s morning breath didn’t bother Armie. Shit, it was love.

Armie felt Timmy begin to stir in his arms; he pulled him in close. Timmy mewled his now-familiar waking-up noises that never failed to tug at Armie’s heart strings: something close to a purr or whine that would always evolve into a growl. He stretched out his back, forcing Armie’s arms to fall away. He turned, blinking at Armie, as if to clear his vision.

“You’re here. I wasn’t dreaming,” he breathed, each word dripping with the relief.

“I’m here. You weren’t dreaming,” Armie repeated back, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face.

Timmy stared at Armie, his every emotion playing out across his face- amazement and appreciation, morphing into a primal hunger. He suddenly lunged up, attacking Armie’s mouth with his own. Armie accepted the assault, only wanting to give Tim what he needed at that moment: to remind Armie, irrefutably, that he belonged to Tim, and Tim alone.

After Tim had taken what he needed, he pulled back, his lips swollen, his chin blotchy with razor burn. He pressed his face into Armie’s neck and mumbled, “We have 15 days left. You can’t fucking leave me again.”

Armie sighed with guilt; Tim was right. He had been tempted by the decadent fantasy of Fire Island, but he should never have left his young boyfriend alone. They were on borrowed time, and faced an unknown, murky future. How could he have made such a thoughtless decision?

Armie pressed his lips briefly into Tim’s curls, then reached across Tim’s chest to grab his phone off of the nightstand. He unlocked it and began to tap out a message.

“What are you doing?” Timmy asked, hesitantly.

“Something I should have done a long time ago. “ He pecked out the quick text, then returned his phone to the table. “My program cohort has a standing date every Sunday to hang out at the Great Lawn. I haven’t been in maybe three weeks. I’ve been, you know, distracted. But I am going today, and you are coming with me.”

Timmy sat up abruptly, his eyebrows furrowed with apprehension.

“Are you sure, Armie? I don’t want you doing this because you feel guilty…”

“Hush. I’m doing this because I am proud of my talented, smart, gorgeous boyfriend, and I want my friends to meet you…which they should have done weeks ago.”

Timmy rolled his eyes, but remained serious. “Are you sure? What about the age thing? I don’t want to put you in a position where you are being judged…”

Armie grabbed Timmy softly by his chin and looked him square in the eye. “You know what, Tim? If they judge me, fuck them. I’m done caring what other people think about you and me and this relationship. There’s only one person’s opinion I care about, and it’s yours.”

Timmy finally seemed to accept Armie’s word, nodding with a small smile. “Ok, then…I guess we’re going on a picnic!”

A few hours later, the boys were walking with a backpack full of drinks and snacks toward the large mixed group of 20-somethings, lounging in a shady spot near the edge of the Great Lawn. It was another hot day, and Armie and Timmy were both dressed in shorts, sandals, and flip-flops. Armie, of course, looked tan and gorgeous in his summer wear; Timmy felt self-conscious next to him with his skinny limbs and pale skin.

Armie raised an arm to greet his friends, and Timmy fell back, gripped with a sudden wave of anxiety. Armie felt his apprehension and slowed his pace to match Timmy’s.

“Don’t be nervous. They are going to love you,” he assured Timmy.

Timmy bit his lower lip, not especially comforted by Armie’s words. “There are so fucking many of them.”

Armie chuckled with commiseration. “You’re lucky; this isn’t the whole group. But don’t worry; they aren’t going to bite. Come on…”

Armie picked up his pace and grinned as they closed in on his cluster of friends. One of the men broke away from the group, approaching them with an arm raised in greeting. Timmy recognized him as Syd; he had met him after his Chinese dinner date with Armie. He swallowed hard, his stomach lurching at what was inevitably coming next.

“Armie! Glad you could make it! AND you brought Tim! What a nice surprise!”

Syd gave Armie a quick fist pound, then turned and shook Timmy’s hand. “Good to see you again, Tim.” 

He returned his focus to Armie with a slightly confused expression. “I thought you had said you were bringing your new boyfriend today?”

Timmy’s face burned at the question; he looked away with embarrassment. Armie felt his discomfort and snaked an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. As Armie opened his mouth to respond, a wave of understanding rippled across Syd’s face. He spoke before Armie had a chance to.

“Oh! You and Tim? Well, that’s…that’s great.”

Timmy glanced at Syd, trying to read on his face how sincere his words were, but he didn’t know him well enough to tell. Armie, however, seemed somewhat relieved at his reaction, and hugged Timmy even closer.

“Yeah, I thought it was time for him to meet everyone. Right, Tim?”

Timmy glanced at Armie, then nodded noncommittally. “Sure.”

Syd grinned. “Alright then; lets go!”

As they approached the group, Armie leaned low into Syd’s ear and whispered, “He’s really nervous. Will you help make him feel comfortable?”

Syd gave a quick nod. “Of course, Armie.”

Armie and Timmy reached the perimeter of the group, and several people called out greetings; some of the girls stood up to give Armie a quick hug or kiss on his cheek. Armie cleared his throat, causing the group to look his way.

“Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Tim. Tim is Nicole and Marc’s son.”

Several people called out “Hello!” or “Welcome!” to Tim; he noticed a few faces that looked at him with interest, but he saw no judgement in anyone’s expressions. He breathed out the air he had been subconsciously holding, and lifted a hand in a general hello.

“Nice to meet everyone,” he replied, eager to appear friendly.

The group made room for Armie and Timmy on their collection of towels and blankets, and as they settled in, several of the girls began peppering Timmy with questions: when did they start dating? How long had his family been hosting students? What was Timmy studying? As Timmy answered the questions, he watched as the girls slowly came to the realization that Timmy was still in high school. A few of them exchanged glances, but they continued to be unfailingly sweet to him. Timmy shifted in his seat, a little uncomfortable with being in the spotlight. Armie eventually noticed Tim’s fidgeting and interrupted, telling them to call off the interrogation.

The rest of the afternoon went by pleasantly. The day cooled a bit as the sun went behind some trees, and some of the group tossed a football around. Armie left to play, but Timmy was content to sit and watch. Two of the girls were eager to hear about his time at LaGuardia, and especially about his experience playing Stanley Kowalski. Timmy felt accepted by Armie’s friends; it was an expectantly fantastic feeling.

While Timmy was relaxing on the blankets, Armie was playing catch with Syd, out of earshot.

“So,” Syd started, tossing the ball to Armie, “Tim, huh? Nice kid…”

Armie wasn’t appreciative of his tone of voice, and returned the ball, hard. “Yeah, Tim. He is more than nice. He is so smart, and ridiculously talented. He is actually pretty fucking amazing.”

“Ok,ok. Easy boy. I can see that. But he’s what? 18?”

Armie scowled a bit. “Fuck you, Syd. You know he’s 17. If you have something to say, just say it.”

He caught the ball, then stood still, waiting for a response.

Syd shrugged. “It’s not my business.”

Armie walked over, closing the distance between the two of them. Syd was his closest friend in the program, and his opinion mattered to Armie.

“Just say what’s on your mind. For fuck’s sake, Syd.”

Syd took a deep breath, as if considering if he should continue to speak. Armie raised his eyebrows, waiting impatiently. Syd plunged ahead.

“I like Tim, Armie. I really do. He’s just so fucking young. I mean…don’t you worry about that?”

Armie clenched and unclenched his fists with irritation. He wasn’t at all surprised by Syd’s response, but that didn’t make his questions any more welcome.

“You’re right, Syd. It really ISN’T any of your fucking business. But since you asked, yes- of course I worry about it. I had a ton of reservations about starting something with Tim before finally giving in. But you know what? It was the best goddamn decision I’ve ever made.”

Syd eyes widened at Armie’s passionate response. “Wow, ok. I guess you’re serious about him?”

Armie sighed. That was the question he had been asking himself a lot recently. How was he supposed to answer it, when he was leaving to return to California in two weeks? Was he is love? For sure. Was he ready to commit to a 17 year old? That was not yet clear to him.

“I like him a lot. But are you asking what’s going to happen when the program ends in two weeks? I have no fucking idea.”

Syd nodded sympathetically, then glanced over Armie’s shoulder at Timmy walking over from the group.

“There he is! Is everyone treating you well, Tim?” Syd asked.

Timmy’s eyes met Armie’s, and his face lit up with adoration, but he pulled his eyes away to respond to Syd.

“Oh yeah; everyone has been great. I’m glad Armie invited me along.”

Syd gave Tim a friendly slap on the shoulder. “That’s great, Tim. I hope you come back again. You’re welcome anytime.”

He gave Armie a final nod, and returned to the group.

Armie opened his arms, and Tim gratefully entered into the warmth and safety of his embrace. They stood, holding each other tight for several seconds, not caring who was watching, before Armie murmured into Timmy’s ear, “Let’s get out of here.”

Timmy pulled away to get a good look at him. “Are you sure? We’ve only been here a few hours.”

“I did what I came here to do. You met my friends; now they know we’re together and what an amazing guy you are. But I miss your body desperately and if we don’t get home to a bed soon, I’m going to do something that would be embarrassing to both of us.”

Timmy grinned. “I have no complaints about that. I’m ready to go when you are.”

The boys returned to the group to say their goodbyes. Armie grinned with pride as several of the girls gave Tim a hug goodbye, then nodded their approval to Armie. As they turned to leave, Syd touched Armie on the shoulder.

“We good?”

Armie shrugged, then gifted him a small smile. “We’re good. See you soon.”

It was mid-afternoon by the time they got back to the blessedly empty apartment; Nicole had texted Tim that morning that they would be gone until dinner. The boys barely made it to Armie’s room before they were on each other, lips and hands and teeth and tongues. Timmy started to tug off Armie’s shirt, but Armie touched his arm to stop him. He looked down at Timmy with the softest eyes, misty with a heady mix of adoration and lust.

“Hey,” he started, “Before we get to far into things, I just wanted to tell you something.”

Tim returned his gaze, eager to get his mouth back on Armie, but also interested in what he had to say. He waited silently for Armie to continue.

“I don’t think I’ve told you enough how much you mean to me, Tim. You are such an incredible, special person, and I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

Tim swallowed; this declaration was unexpected and made his heart and stomach flutter with intense emotions.

“I feel the same, Armie. Sometimes I can’t believe that you are real; that we are really together. I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.” Tim’s eyes started to water as he thought again how their time was coming to an end.

Armie shook his head. “Hey, I didn’t mean for this to be sad. I just want you to know how I feel. I love you, Tim. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, but I did. Hard.”

Tim opened his mouth to respond, but Armie put up a hand to stop him.

“You don’t have to say anything right now. I said it because I wanted you to know, not to hear it back. Also…”

Armie took a deep breath, seeming to ready himself for something, then looked deep into Tim’s eyes.

“I want to do something with you that I’ve never done before with another man. Something that will be ours alone. I want to feel you inside me. Tim, I want you to fuck me.”  



	16. A Second First-Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly smut, a little fluff. Timmy tops!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was going to have some plot in this chapter, but then decided, nah. Sex is enough, right?
> 
> Thank you for all your wonderful comments on the last chapter. There is some angst ahead, but not quite yet.  
> xoxox

Chapter 16

A Second First-Time

7/28/19

Timmy had stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt, and was taking in the glorious sight of his unclothed boyfriend lying flat on his back across the bed. Legs so long they hung off the end of the mattress. His thighs, thick and golden with a dusting of brown hair. Timmy’s eyes slowed their journey when they landed on Armie’s erect cock. God, it was beautiful. Timmy didn’t think he would ever get bored of the sight, smell, and taste of it. He lightly stroked a single finger down its considerable length, just to see it tremor.

Armie grinned, clearly enjoying the attention, and his erection lurched impatiently.

“I’m glad you’re having fun, but this bed is cold without you.” 

Timmy finally lifted his eyes to Armie’s beautiful face, flushed and a bit sweaty from both the warmth of the room and his slight apprehension about what they were about to do. Timmy licked his lips in anticipation; lust and nerves were competing to be his primary emotion.

This was the first time for both of them for they were about to do. Timmy had never been inside a man, and Armie, while experienced in many ways, had never had another man’s cock inside of him. But they wanted it so badly that they were willing to ignore the awkwardness that was inevitable with trying something that was new to them both. 

Timmy felt that he should ask one more time, just to be sure. He sat on the bed next to Armie, caressing his stomach softly. 

“This is definitely what you want, Armie? Because I am more than fine with bottoming. I love having you inside of me.”

“Baby, it was my idea, remember? I want to do this. I’m READY to do this…”

That was all Timmy needed to hear; he tore off the last of his clothes, dumping them in a pile next to the bed, and vaulted himself onto Armie’s waiting body. Armie laughed out a surprised huff at his enthusiasm, but his laughter died quickly once when he had Timmy’s lean body covering his own. He wrapped his arms tight around Timmy, drawing him even closer. They kissed like that for several minutes, enjoying the feel of skin-on-skin. Armie trailed his large hands down Timmy’s back, stopping once they reached his ass. He resisted the urge to slip a finger into Timmy’s crevice- that wasn’t what they were doing today- and instead grabbed his small mounds of flesh, hard. As their kiss deepened, Armie took Timmy by the hips and began to work his groin up and down, rubbing their cocks together. They moaned simultaneously at how good that felt.

Timmy pulled his mouth away, just a fraction, to speak. “I’m ready, Armie,” he panted, “I want to be in you…”

“I want that, too, baby.” Armie had prepared himself earlier, as Timmy had watched. That sight had been almost enough to send him coming into his pants, still fully dressed. Watching Armie, gloriously naked, with his knees spread and his fingers buried between his legs, had surely been a sexual highlight of Timmy’s relatively short life. But the night was young.

Timmy shimmied down the bed to kneel between Armie’s thick legs. He kissed each of his knees, then pressed two fingers into his warm, open hole, just to tease him. Armie hummed in approval, and Timmy pushed then in deeper. Armie’s hum turned into a soft moan.

“Oh, fuck, babe. Why don’t we do this more often?” 

“I like seeing you like this. Is that weird?” He felt in control of Armie’s pleasure, and he liked it. Usually Armie was so concerned about him- did he like what they were doing? Did it feel good? Was he in any discomfort? Timmy loved how thoughtful Armie was in bed, but he was ready to be the dominant one tonight. He moved his fingers in and out, as Armie squirmed in pleasure.

“Not…at…all,” Armie was barely able to get the words out, obviously enjoying himself. “Tim, I want you in me. Fucking now.” 

Armie’s words went right to Timmy’s cock, already throbbing and dripping with pre-cum. He grabbed the base of his dick to calm himself down.

“Fuck, ok.” He was suddenly nervous, but ready. He pulled his fingers out, and looked up at Armie. Their eyes met and Armie gave him a soft, encouraging smile. 

Timmy quickly opened and pulled on the condom, covered himself with lube, then settled in between Armie’s legs. They had decided to try it with Armie on his back- Timmy wanted his first time to be personal; he needed to see Armie’s face.

He felt clumsy as he tried to position himself just right, lining himself up to Armie’s hole. But as soon as he found just the right spot, and began to push his tip into Armie, every little but of apprehension, awkwardness, and questioning fled his body. Because this…THIS…was the best thing he had every felt. He checked in on Armie, who nodded for him to continue. 

“I’m good, babe; push in more, slowly…”

Timmy thrust his hips forward, his cock burrowing deeper into Armie. Every centimeter was an explosion of pleasure, and Timmy had to resist the urge to grab Armie by the shoulder and start ramming into him with adolescent fervor. But he took it slow, and his patience was rewarded but the murmurs of intense enjoyment coming from Armie, his eyes closed and mouth open. When Timmy was fully sheathed inside Armie, he paused to fully inhabit the moment. His cock pulsed inside the tight, hot space of Armie. It felt so cliché, but Timmy did truly feel that, at that moment, they were one entity. 

“Armie…” he whispered. Armie’s eyes flew open.

“Yeah, babe? Are you ok?”

Timmy nodded quickly, slightly out of breath. “I am so fucking ok. I..I love you. Thank you for giving this to me….”

Armie grinned at that. “I think you’re giving it to ME. And yeah…this feels, um, different, but I kind of like it. But I need to…” and he bucked his hips up towards Timmy, sending bolts of pleasure through both of their groins. They both groaned with pleasure, then laughed at their synchronized reactions.

“Yeah, that works,” Timmy panted, and he began pulsing his hips, his cock moving fluidly in and out of Armie. He chased his own pleasure, the movement coming natural to him once he started to follow his instincts. He loved that what felt good to him, also seemed to feel just as good to Armie. He arched his back to thrust even deeper, and Armie grabbed the sheets with a shout. He quickened his pace, and Armie moaned his name. He fucked him harder, and Armie cussed loudly. Watching Armie, pliant and debauched underneath him, was as big of a turn-on as the feel of actually fucking Armie. He loved that HE was the one giving Armie such pleasure; HE was the one making Armie look like THAT. 

Timmy felt his orgasm starting to well up inside of him; his nails dug deep into Armie. He was out of his mind with pleasure; his hips suddenly took on a life of their own, driving hard into Armie, until his orgasm finally erupted. He clutched Armie’s hips while his release pulsed out of him in waves of sexual satiation; the feelings so intense and complete, that he felt close to blacking out with sheer joy. Armie had taken himself in his hand when he had seen that Timmy was close. He gave himself a few firm tugs, and was coming in seconds, as well. 

Timmy was spent; he collapsed onto Armie, his lungs heaving and his heart pounding. His face pressed against Armie’s sweaty chest; he felt Armie’s own heart racing against his cheek. Tim wanted to just savor this moment- sexually spent, nestled against the man he loved. 

He wrapped his arms around Armie’s back. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

“Same,” he heard a soft whisper back.

The boys cleaned up then crawled back into bed. It was only 5pm, but a nap was in order. Timmy clung to Armie as they drifted off into a content sleep.Timmy was woken an hour later by the sounds of the front door slamming shut; his parents were returning home. Armie continued to sleep, but Timmy pulled on his shorts and shirt, made a quick stop in the restroom to check that he didn't look too depraved, then ventured down the hall to talk to his parents.

He found them in the kitchen, putting away groceries. His mom paused, mid-reach to a high shelf, when she heard Timmy enter. Two sets of eyes settled on him expectantly as he leaned on the door jam.

“So…” his mom started, “I heard someone come home, late last night, then saw Armie’s shoes by the door this morning. What happened? He came home?”

Timmy couldn’t help but grin at the memory of Armie slipping into the bed last night. 

“He did. He missed me, and he came home.” He bit his lower lip and shrugged. He was giving nothing but the facts.

Nicole and Marc glanced at each other, then back at Timmy.

His father spoke next. “Well, it sounds like Armie has some pretty strong feelings for you.” 

It was a statement, not a question. Timmy wondered where this was leading.

“I think he does. I feel the same about him.”

Nicole walked over and pulled Timmy into a hug. She held him tight for several seconds, then released him with a sigh.

“Timmy, you know we like Armie. But he leaves in two weeks, to move back across the country. I don’t want either of you to forget that. Don’t let yourself fall too hard.” 

Marc interjected. “Are you planning on continuing the relationship after he leaves?”

Timmy felt annoyed by all their questions, especially when he had entered the kitchen in such a blissed-out state of euphoria. The last thing he wanted to think about was his and Armie’s reality, and their lack of plans for after he leaves. 

He snapped at his parents in frustration. “Of course we’ve talked about it. Now, can you leave me alone about it? It’s my business, not yours.”  
Nicole pressed her lips together in concern; Marc turned his attention back to the groceries.

“We’re just looking after you, Timmy. We don’t want you to get hurt. But I know it’s your life; we won’t try and interfere.”

Timmy immediately felt guilty at his outburst. “Ok; thanks, mom. I'm sorry I snapped at you.” 

He poured himself and Armie some water and headed back down the hallway, then stopped in the bathroom on the way back to the room. He ran some warm water on a washcloth for Armie, and grabbed a few Ibuprofen, just in case. He didn’t want his boyfriend to feel any discomfort after his first time. 

As he headed back to his room, he thought about what his parents had said. He knew that they were right. They couldn’t keep pretending that their relationship didn't have an end date, and it was way too soon.


	17. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've been putting it off for weeks, but the boys finally have their talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter before Armie's final week, performance, and departure. Nooooooo!
> 
> Note: I've added dates to each chapter, more for myself than anything, but it might also help the readers know where we are in Armie's six weeks in NYC.
> 
> Thank you as always for your comments and Kudos. I am struggling to finish this fic (I have another already in the works, a high school AU set in my hometown!), so I need your support more than ever!
> 
> xoxox

Chapter 17

The Talk

7/29-8/2/2019

The next week was Armie’s last round of rehearsals before he actually went on stage with his production for four shows. He was becoming increasingly busy, but now that he and Timmy were totally public with their relationship, it was easier to find time to be together. Some nights, Timmy would bring Armie dinner at the theater. Other nights, he would stop by to watch, and then join Armie and the rest of the cast for drinks or a bite to eat afterwards.

The cast accepted Timmy immediately, and he loved being at the theater, surrounded by the acting community. He often would watch Armie from a seat, and pretend that he was at a live show, watching his husband perform. If he ruminated on these thoughts for too long, he would start to feel silly- but he loved the fantasy of having Armie every day, forever.

Friday rolled around, and Timmy was comfortably settled in a theater seat with a book and some coffee. Armie was backstage somewhere when the director came out and announced that they were breaking early for the night. Timmy glanced at his phone; it was only 6pm. He grinned when he realized that he would have the entire night to spend with Armie.

Armie slid into the seat next to him a few minutes later, leaning down to peck his lips.

“That was a nice surprise. I thought that we’d go until at least 8,” he remarked.

“So, do you want to get dinner? We could try that new place on 6th?”

Armie thought for a moment, then turned to Timmy. “I have an idea. Let’s cook dinner. Together.”

Timmy’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Do you know how to cook?”

Armie barked out a laugh. “Tim, I’m 24. Of course I know how to cook. And it’s time you learned, too. Come on; let’s pick up some groceries and make a feast for your folks.”

An hour later, the boys burst through the front door, their arms loaded with bags of food: pasta, fresh produce for sauce and salad, bread, wine, and gelato. Nicole followed them to the kitchen looking impressed.

“I got your text that you were making dinner, Timmy. You two mean business, huh?” She poured two glasses of wine for herself and Marc, then Armie shooed her out of the kitchen.

Armie tasked Timmy with dicing onions, and looked on in dismay as Timmy almost sliced a finger off.

“Stop, stop, stop! Your knife skills are seriously lacking, babe. Here, let me show you.”

Armie sharped the knife, then stood behind Timmy with his arms on either side to show him how to properly dice. Timmy leaned back against his chest, thinking about how firm it felt, rather than listening to his lesson on proper chopping technique.

“Hey! Are you paying attention?” Armie chastised Timmy. He turned to face him, leaning against the counter.

“Not in the slightest. I had a distraction pressing against my back.”

“Excuse me, YOU were pressing against ME. I am focused on creating a gourmet meal. All YOU can think about is sex,” Armie said with a grin. Timmy shrugged, and looked up at Armie through his eyelashes, giving his best, “I’m so innocent” look. He licked his lips, slowly and deliberately.

Armie sighed with a chuckle. “You little tease. You know what you do to me.” He finally gave into his boyfriend for a moment, putting down the knife, and sweeping Timmy into a deep kiss.

Timmy wrapped his one hand around Armie’s neck; the other traveled down his chest, landing on the large, hard bulge hidden within the confines of Armie’s jeans. He rubbed it up and down, then squeezed hard until Armie gasped.

“You better watch it, or I’ll turn you around and take you up against this counter,” he growled.

“Promise?” Timmy panted.

Armie smirked. “I should have known not to make that threat.”

He reluctantly pulled away from Timmy. “As much as I want to take a quick break in the bedroom, we need to finish up this meal. Here,” he thrust a head of lettuce at Timmy. “Make the salad. You can handle that, right?”

Timmy grabbed the greens. “I know how to make a fucking salad. But it’s not going to be easy with these blue balls.”

Armie gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll take care of your lovely balls later. I promise.”

“This looks amazing, Armie. Thank you so much for cooking for us. A toast to the cook!” Marc raised his glass to toast Armie.

“Hey, I helped, too!” Timmy protested.

“Yes, sweetie, your salad looks wonderful,” Nicole interjected. “To our chefs. Everything smells delicious. Let’s dig in!”

Four glasses clinked in a toast, then everyone dug into Armie’s meal of pasta, salad, and garlic bread. They ate in comfortable silence for several minutes until Marc spoke up.

“So your performances start next week- right, Armie?”

Armie nodded as he chewed, then swallowed. “That’s right, Marc. I have four performances- Thursday night, Friday night, then two on Saturday.”

“How exciting! We can’t wait to go!” Nicole exclaimed.

Timmy stared down at his plate. “Then you leave Sunday.”

Marc and Nicole glanced at each other; Armie looked at Timmy with a pained look. “That’s true, Tim. I leave a week from Sunday. You know that.”

Timmy grumbled, still not looking up from his plate, “Yeah. I fucking know that.”

Nicole cleared her throat; the previously festive mood of the night quickly evaporating. “Well, we can’t wait to see you up on stage, Armie. You are going to be incredible. You’ve been working so hard!”

Armie gave a small smile, still looking at Timmy. “I hope so, Nicole. I’m looking forward to looking out and seeing you all in the audience. Especially you, Tim.

With those words, Timmy finally glanced up at him, his expression softening. “I’ll be at every performance, Armie. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Armie reached down, under the table, and took one of Timmy’s hands. “I know you wouldn’t.”

That night, Armie slid into Timmy with intense mindfulness. He wanted to memorize every sensation, every smell, every taste of Timmy’s body. He pushed his fingers through Timmy’s soft curls, then buried his face in his neck, breathing him in. He thrust into him again and again, deep and slow, committing to memory the feel of Timmy’s tight heat enveloping him. Timmy wrapped his legs around Armie’s back, pulling him in closer; Armie wished that he could somehow fuse their bodies together forever. Their orgasms reached a crescendo at almost the same time, and Armie collapsed, panting, onto Timmy.

“Fuck, Timmy. What am I going to do without you? I need this like I need air,” he gasped.

Timmy lay silently beneath him, his hands tracing small circles on his back. After several long moments, he finally spoke.

“What ARE we going to do, Armie? We need to talk about this.”

Armie rolled off of Timmy, cleaned up quickly, then faced his boyfriend with a sigh.

“You’re right; we do, babe. Ok…let’s talk. Real talk.”

Timmy’s eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Ok…real talk? You start.”

Armie took a deep breath; he had been dreading having this conversation but it was finally time. He sat up, cross-legged, facing Timmy.

“Tim, I love you. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, but fuck…I have. But I don’t know how we can make this work with me in California and you here. You still have a year of high school and the last thing you need is to be saddled with some old guy who lives across the country.”

Timmy was already shaking his head. “Don’t say that, Armie! I don’t care that I’m in high school. That is so fucking irrelevant. We can make it work if we want to. I can fly out to see you, and you’ll be back in NY. We have to at least try. I…I love you, too, and I couldn’t bear it if you left and that was it for us.” Tears started to roll down Timmy’s cheeks. “I couldn’t fucking bear it.”

Armie lay down next to him and gathered him in his arms. “Shhh, shhh. Ok, you’re right. I couldn’t bear it, either. If you’re willing to try, then I am, too. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Timmy was mollified. He snuggled deep into Armie’s embrace, and the boys fell into a deep sleep. They had nine days left together.


	18. Final Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie's last week, then his departure.
> 
> Fluff, smut, then serious angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really difficult chapter to write. I'm not thrilled with it, but I need to be done with it and move on. 
> 
> As always, thank you to my readers for your support. I SO appreciate every single Kudos and comment! Next up...a flash forward! I think.

Chapter 18

Final Days

8/3-8/11/2019

Timmy and Armie enjoyed their last weekend together before Armie’s performances in a state of happy denial. They spent almost every minute together and, by Armie’s request, engaged in lots of Manhattan cliché-couple activities. Saturday, they rented bikes in Central Park, then got ice cream and walked around the reservoir. That night, they went out for a romantic dinner at a French restaurant that Marc recommended.

After dinner, wrapped in each other’s arms on Armie’s bed, Armie asked Timmy to fuck him. Timmy flipped him onto his stomach and happily obliged, thrusting into him, slow and deep, marveling at the throaty sounds that Armie made. When they were done, Armie held Timmy tight and whispered, “Only you.”

Sunday, the boys spent the day at The Cloisters, wandering hand-in-hand among the gardens and tapestries. They crawled into bed once they got home that afternoon, planning on taking a long nap after their hours-long excursion. Instead, Timmy found himself situated between Armie’s thighs, his tongue making its way around the head of his erection.

“Hey,” Armie interrupted his focus. “I want to try something…”

Timmy stopped his activity and looked up at Armie, curious. Armie sat up and kissed Timmy deeply, then pulled off his shirt.

“Take off your pants,” he murmured; Timmy quickly complied. Armie laid him back on the bed so his head was at the foot of the bed, then turned and laid the opposite way. Timmy grinned, understanding dawning across his face as Armie took him in his mouth. Timmy’s breath shuddered at the feeling, and he considered just leaning back and enjoying the blow-job. But he really wanted to experience _everything_ with Armie, including this. He scooted closer to Armie and slowly licked the head of his cock, his tongue swirling sensually around the pink skin, then took his entire length into his mouth.

The dual sensations of having Armie’s heavy cock in his mouth while simultaneously being sucked off felt incredibly erotic, almost unbearably so. It was difficult to concentrate on his own task while Armie’s tongue journeyed up and down his erection, but he focused as best he could. They eventually got into a sensual rhythm, their heads bobbing almost in tandem. Timmy gripped Armie’s ass, trying to steady himself. He was a blissed-out mess of spit, sweat and skin. Soon, his cock began to swell; his hips pumped harder into Armie’s mouth until he felt his orgasm rippling through his body. Seconds later, Armie released a full load into his mouth, his cock pulsating with pleasure.

The boys stayed that way, head to foot, for several seconds to catch their breath and steady their racing hearts. Armie kissed Timmy’s thigh, then reached down, wrapped his strong arms around Timmy’s torso, and heaved him back to the top of the bed. He kept his arms around him, nuzzling his throat with his nose.

“”You are fucking amazing. Do you know that? Every time I think you are already perfect, you get even better.”

Timmy grinned. “Who knew that doing 69 would bring out the sap in you?”

Armie shook his head, suddenly serious. “No, Tim. It’s you. YOU bring out the sap in me.”

They burrowed into Armie’s blankets, cozy and warm, and finally took a much needed nap.

Despite Timmy’s wish for time to stand still, the week flew by and soon it was Thursday night, the evening of Armie’s first performance. Timmy had given him a quick good-luck hand job that morning, before sending him off to his last rehearsal. Armie had been more excited than nervous, eager to finally show off the results of his four weeks of rehearsal time.

Timmy worked that afternoon, then met his parents, Pauline, and his best friend Will at the apartment to depart for the play together. Timmy changed into Armie’s favorite outfit of his- black jeans and ankle boots, and a short-sleeved black shirt covered in red hearts. Armie had once called the shirt ‘the incarnation of Tims very essence in an article of clothing.’ Timmy smiled at the memory as he entered the theater with his family and Will.

The lights dimmed and Timmy sat up straight in anticipation. He had been to so many rehearsals that he had the play memorized, but he was still thrilled to get to watch Armie perform in front of an audience. Will gave Timmy’s knee a quick pat as the lights went down. He knew how important this night was to Armie and therefore, in turn, to Timmy.

Armie had a relatively small part in the play, but his character of Spike required sharp comedic timing, and Spike’s revealing wardrobe required a fit physique and little modesty. When Armie first appeared on stage, wearing nothing more than his underwear, two women behind Timmy gasped, and one of them stage-whispered to the other, “LOOK at him! Good lord!” Timmy couldn’t help but beam with pride. Will nudged Timmy, obviously hearing the same exchange, and Timmy nudged back with a grin.

The play earned a standing ovation, with Timmy on his feet before anyone else. His heart swelled with pride at Armie’s first true theater performance- he was such a natural, and his stage-presence was mesmerizing. Timmy walked backstage with an armful of flowers to find Armie. He knew all of the actors, and gave lots of hugs and high-fives before finally locating Armie in the dressing room, changing into his street clothes.

He tapped Armie on the shoulder; Armie turned and swept Timmy into a huge bear hug, crushing the flowers between them. Timmy laughed and pulled away. “These are for you. You were so amazing, babe.”

Armie took the flowers and gave Timmy a quick peck. Timmy didn’t think that he had ever seen Armie so happy.

“Tim, that was…that was the best feeling ever. Being on stage, hearing the audience laugh, and then the applause. It was….I’m speechless.”

Timmy squeezed his hand. “Maybe this is what you’re meant to do,” he answered, his voice drenched with hope. “Maybe you’re meant to stay in New York and work on the stage.”

Armie tilted his head back and took a deep, cleansing breath, then looked down at Timmy with a smile. “Maybe.”

The group went to dinner, and Marc gave a heart-felt toast.

“Armie, what we saw on the stage tonight was a star in the making. We are so proud to be part of your rise. You’ve worked incredibly hard and deserve every bit of praise you’ll be getting for this part. On a personal note, we’ve enjoyed hosting you immensely. You’ve become part of our family, and you are welcome back to our home any time that you are in NY. Cheers, to Armie!”

The group lifted their drinks in honor of Amie; Timmy’s heart was full.

Timmy attended every one of Armie’s shows that week, Friday night and the Saturday matinee alone, and with his parents for the final show Saturday night, their last night together. Timmy watched him on stage, trying to focus on his performance which had improved with every show, rather than on his impending departure the next day. He already felt his heart splintering with heartbreak, terrifying him of the pain that was sure to come after Armie was actually gone.

After the Saturday show, Nicole asked if the boys wanted to go to dinner, but they had already decided that they wanted to spend their last 12 hours together….in bed. Armie demurred apologetically, but Nicole waved him off.

“You’ve been with us old people all night. Go…enjoy your time together,” she said, sending them off with a wink. Timmy was too grateful to be embarrassed by her insinuation.

Back at the apartment, Timmy dragged Armie into the bedroom, closed and locked the door, then launched himself into his arms.

“I want you to fuck me so hard that I’ll feel you for days after you’re gone,” he growled into Armie’s ear.

Armie laughed. “Yes, sir. Not a problem.”

Armie peeled off Timmy’s clothes, and his own, lay him on the bed, then worked his way from Timmy’s throat to his groin with his tongue.

“I just need to taste you one last time before I go…” he murmured, lifting up Timmy by his hips, and lapping his tongue into his crevice. Timmy moaned in appreciation, pushing his hands through Armie’s hair. 

When Armie came up for air, Timmy said in almost a whisper, “I want to ride you.” Armie gave him a quizzical look, but then flipped onto his back and pulled Timmy on top of his chest.

“Like this?” he asked. Timmy nodded eagerly. Armie gripped the base of his cock with one hand, holding it erect. He reached over and grabbed the lube, generously covering himself. Timmy hovered above him, his hands pressed against Armie’s chest. He positioned his warm, waiting hole at the tip of Armie’s cock, then slowly- so, so slowly- lowered himself down.

Armie watched in awe as his cock disappeared between Timmy’s cheeks, his tight heat slowly taking him in. It felt so good that Armie had to stop himself from thrusting up hard into Timmy. He glanced up once to check in: Timmy had a look of intense concentration on his face- eyebrows furrowed, sucking on his lower lip- as he worked at taking in Armie’s entire length. When his cock was finally buried deep in Timmy, Timmy let out a hoarse “Oh, fuck,” with a hiss.

“You ok?” Armie gasped, trying to maintain control. Timmy gave a quick nod, then gave a tentative roll of his hips. They let out a simultaneous moan at the sensation that produced.

“Oh my god, more of that,” Armie groaned, and Timmy started to fuck him in earnest, lifting off then grinding down. Armie laid back and enjoyed the view; watching Timmy ride him like a horse was honestly one of the hottest things Armie had every experienced. The blissed-out look on Timmy’s face with his bare, sweaty body bobbing up and down on Armie’s dick…Armie wanted to bottle this memory to keep until he died.

Timmy picked up speed, chasing his own orgasm. He grinded hard onto Armie, pushing down onto his cock into his sweet spot. He began rocking back and forth furiously, his head thrown back in ecstasy. Armie knew he was close to coming, and began to work his own erection.

“Come for me baby,” Armie gasped, and with those words, their orgasms swept over them both. Timmy came with a yell, then collapsed onto Armie, overcome with emotion. He began to weep as Armie pulled him into his arms, tight.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you…” Armie whispered into his ear. They stayed that way for several minutes, Timmy crying silently, Armie trying to recover from a mind-blowing orgasm while soothing his heartbroken boyfriend. Eventually, emotionally spent, they both fell asleep.

Armie woke early the next morning, still needing to pack for his noon flight. He worked quickly and quietly, hoping that Tim would stay asleep. He wanted to spend time with him on his last day, but he also knew how difficult it would be for Timmy to watch Armie pack his things to leave. Once he was done arranging his things in his suitcase, he took a quick shower, then returned to the room to wake Timmy.

Timmy bolted up right and looked at his watch. “Fuck, Armie, it’s already 9! You have to leave in an hour…why didn’t you wake me up?” He looked close to tears already.

“I had to pack. I thought you needed your sleep…”

Timmy face contorted with anger. “Well, next time, don’t think for me. You KNOW I wanted to spend time with you!”

Armie reached for him, to hold him and show him his regret. “I’m sorry…I should have woken you.”

Timmy pulled away and turned his back to Armie, pouting. Armie sighed. “Tim, I get why you’re upset, but PLEASE. I don’t want to spend our last few minutes together fighting. I’m sorry.” He put his hand on Timmy’s shoulder. Timmy lay in silence for a few second, then turned to look at Armie, misery evident in his shining eyes.

“You’re right. I’m just so sad you’re leaving. I….I don’t know what to do with myself.” He let himself be held by Armie. They lay in bed, their bodies pressed together, whispering promises and words of love to one another.

Finally, it was time for Armie to go. Timmy followed him down the hallway to the kitchen where Nicole and Marc were having breakfast, waiting to say goodbye. Nicole had packed him a bagel and some coffee for the taxi ride. Armie hugged them both, repeating his thanks and gratitude for their hospitality several more times. Nicole teared up and told him to please PLEASE come back and visit soon.

The elevator ride to the street was silent, laden with sadness. The taxi was waiting when they got to the sidewalk; Armie handed over his suitcases, the turned and took Timmy into his arms.

“I love you. I love you more than I can begin to express. Don’t ever forget that.”

Timmy sniffed, gripping him hard. “I love you, too. Call me as soon as you land.”

Armie ducked into the taxi, rolled down the window, and gave Timmy one final wave. He mouthed the words, “I love you” while the taxi pulled away. Timmy stood on the sidewalk, watching the taxi until it was out of view. Then he walked over to the bench, put his head in his hands, and wept.


	19. California Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hurts me more than it hurts you! 
> 
> Sorry for an angsty chapter. And thank you all for your continued support of this fic!!!! xoxoxo

Chapter 19

California Son

Armie shifted uncomfortably in his airplane seat, desperate to get some sleep. He had chosen to sit on an aisle, and had lucked into having a tiny elderly woman next to him; despite this, his 6’5” body just didn’t fit into a regulation Coach seat. He sighed and dreamed of the day he could afford First Class.

Eventually, he nodded off, not waking until the pilot announced their descent into LAX. Armie leaned forward to look out the window, trying to see a bit of the city as they flew by. His body felt heavy with sadness; he dreaded returning to his empty studio apartment. Everything he loved was now on a different coast, in a different time-zone. But he had no choice but to set that aside and re-focus on his life here, in Los Angeles. He already had an audition and a meeting with his agent lined up for that week.

As soon as the plane landed, Armie tapped out a message to Tim.

_AH- Just landed. Miss your face so much already_

Before he even had a chance to turn off his phone, a message from Tim arrived, accompanied with a selfie- Tim’s adorable face, looking fairly miserable.

 _TC- Me, too. Come back_  
_AH- I wish I could, babe. You don’t even know_  
_TC- I do, though. I miss you so badly already. I don’t think I can function_  
_AH- You’ll be ok. I’ll call you when I get back to my apartment_  
_TC- No, FaceTime me! I want to see your place_  
_AH- You got it. Love you_  
_TC- Love you more_

Armie grabbed his bags from the carousel and met his Uber for the ride home. It was only 5:30pm west coast time, but he was exhausted and ready for bed. He watched Los Angeles go by through the car window- traffic on the 405, homeless encampments on Venice Boulevard, the trendy shops and restaurants on La Brea, and finally, his neighborhood of charming duplexes and nondescript apartment buildings. The car pulled up in front of his building and Armie eyed it with antipathy. This was not where he wanted to be. 

Armie unlocked the front door of his unit with a bit of dread. It had been 6 weeks since he had been inside his apartment; he had forgotten how much he disliked it. He opened the door and was immediately hit with stale air. He opened the few windows he had, checked around to make sure everything was in working order, then Facetimed Tim. He answered on the first ring. Armie had to smile; it was so good to see his face.

“You’re home! Give me a tour.”

“There isn’t much to see. It’s a studio.” He pulled the phone away his face, and did a slow 180 degree turn, showing Tim his place.

“That’s it; that’s the entire thing. Kitchen, couch, table, bed, bathroom.”

“Looks nice. But show me your face again.”

Armie returned the camera to his face; a puppy-faced Tim was on his screen.

“I miss you so much, Armie. How am I going to do this? How am I going to sleep in my bed tonight without you here? I’m going to tell my mom to never change the sheets so they always smell like you.”

Armie laughed. “That’s gross, babe. I miss you, too. You have no idea. It’s so weird to be back here. I feel like I don’t belong in LA anymore.”

Tim’s voice went up an octave. “That’s because you don’t! You need to come back to New York. This is where you belong now!”

Armie gave a sad chuckle. “That may be, but Los Angeles is where my work and life are.”

Tim gave an angry huff, his face contorting with emotion. “It doesn’t have to be, Armie!”

Armie sighed, not wanting to argue already. “We can talk about this some other time, Tim. I just want to enjoy seeing your gorgeous face for a little bit longer, and then crash.”

The boys talked for a few more minutes, then hung up with promises of daily Facetime calls. Armie opened his suitcase to fish out his toothbrush and toothpaste, brushed his teeth, stripped down to his boxers, and passed out cold.

  
Armie woke early the next morning, still on East Coast time. He went out for a morning run (a habit that had fallen by the wayside when he was in New York), then walked to the store for some basic grocery staples. When he got back, he got on the group text he had with his three best friends, Nick, Ash, and Tyler, and sent out a message asking if they wanted to meet for drinks that night. Nick immediately responded- _The king has returned to his realm! I’m in. Let’s meet at El Coyote at 8._ Ash and Tyler responded affirmatively within minutes.

Once the boys were comfortably ensconced in one of El Coyote’s huge booths, double-scratch margaritas in hand, the questions about Armie’s trip started to rain down, fast and furious. What play was he in? What was the program like? Where did he go out in New York? What was his host family like (Armie answered in vague terms for that question)? And finally…did he hook up with anyone while he was there?

This was the question that Armie had been dreading. He had already decided to be honest with his friends about Tim. He had known these guys for several years, and he trusted them with his life. They knew he was gay, and had accepted him without a second thought. But Tim? Their relationship was something totally different. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“So…yeah. There actually was someone. I started dating Tim, the Chalamet’s son, while I was there.”

He paused to let that sink in. Nick immediately jumped in.

“Wait, isn’t he in high school? How old did you say he is?”

Armie looked up at three very concerned faces, waiting for his answer. He nodded.

“Yes. He’s 17. But he is….”

Ash cut him off. “DUDE! You can’t date a 17 year old! You could get fucking arrested!”

Nick nodded in agreement, but Tyler put a hand up. “Jesus, guys, let him speak. Go on, Armie. I have to admit, I’m a little concerned, too, but I want to hear more about Tim.”

Armie gave a small, grateful smile to Tyler. He wasn’t used to having to defend himself to his friends. It was not a good feeling.

“You guys would have to meet him. He isn’t a typical 17-year old. He’s incredibly smart and well-spoken. He’s an actor, too…actually, he’s the most talented actor I’ve ever seen. He’s amazing. And he is so sweet and funny. I mean, he’s a dork, but in the best way. And he’s…”

He glanced up at his friends to see them all staring at him with wide eyes. Armie had never gone on and on about one of his boyfriends like this in his life.

Nick gave a low whistle. “Dude. You are GONE for him.”

Armie shifted in his seat then took a long swig of his margarita. “I…I’m in love with him.”

The four sat in silence for a minute, then Ash spoke up.

“Arms, I’m happy for you. I really am. But what the fuck are you going to do? I’m not trying to be a dick; I’m being realistic. He’s 17! And in New York. You’re 24 and in Los Angeles. You’re dealing with daily life, finding work and paying rent. He’s doing fucking homework and worrying about Homecoming. How are you going to make this work?”

Armie nodded miserably, the high that he had just been feeling, talking about Tim, totally evaporating. All the concerns that Ash had voiced were the same concerns that Armie had, making them even more potent. What WERE they going to do? And how was it fair to expect a high school senior to stay faithful to some broke actor, 3000 miles away?

He said, somewhat pathetically, “I don’t think his school has a Homecoming.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Dude. You know what I meant. He sounds like a great guy, and I can see that you really like him. Just seems like a really difficult situation.”

Nick nodded in agreement, and even Tyler sat quietly. Armie stared into his glass wretchedly. He had a lot to think about.

Armie got home too late to call Tim. He went right to bed, but spent hours tossing and turning, ruminating on everything his friends had said, and on his and Tim’s future.

He and Tim hadn’t constructed a firm roadmap for their long-distance relationship. Their vague plan was mostly to call, message, and Facetime each other as much as possible, and just get by with that. Suddenly, that just didn’t seem like enough to Armie. Once Tim went back to school, he would be much busier. They were in different time zones, which also complicated things. Armie hoped to return to New York for a visit, but right now he was broke, and couldn’t even start planning a trip. It was starting to seem a little hopeless.

Armie finally fell asleep, dreaming of Tim’s emerald eyes and blush lips. He missed him so much, his heart ached.

Armie woke late the next morning, the tequila from the previous night playing percussion in his head. He took a few Ibuprophin and checked his phone- three missed FaceTime calls from Tim, and a text- _Hope you had fun last night. Call me when you get up. Love and miss you so much!_

Armie crawled back into his bed and pulled the blanket around his shoulders. He wasn’t ready to face this day yet. He felt like shit, and his uncertainty about his relationship with Tim had only grown in the unforgiving light of day. He sent a quick text to Tim- _Miss you, too. I’ll call you later when I’m up. Had a bit too much tequila last night. Going back to sleep. Love you_

Armie stared up at his bedroom ceiling, feeling crappy but unable to fall back asleep. He grabbed his phone, and started looking through pictures from that summer: pictures of the other people in his program, of his castmates from the play, of Marc and Nicole…and pictures of Tim. So many pictures of Tim. Tim smiling wide and throwing peace signs. Selfies of the two of them, in bed. Tim goofing around, making faces. Pictures from Streetcar, with Tim in costume. And a few, precious videos. Armie played each one, his heart clenching at the sound of Tim’s voice.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore- he turned off the phone and threw it down on the end of his bed with a muffled sob. He wasn’t going to cry. He had never cried over a boy in his life, he wasn’t going to start now. A few tears slid down his cheek and he wiped them away angrily. Fuck, what was he going to do? He couldn’t live like this.

The Ibuprophin finally kicked in and Armie fell back asleep for several hours. When he got up, he Facetimed Tim immediately. Tim picked up with a relieved look on his face.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to call! How are you feeling? You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit. Three double-scratch margaritas and no real dinner don’t agree with me.”

“Ouch. Did you have fun with your friends? Nick and…what are their names?”

“Nick, Ash, and Tyler. Yeah, it was fun. It was good to see them. We had a lot of catching up to do.”

Tim looked distracted, looking away from the phone several times.

“Everything ok there?”

“Yeah; I just have to go. I’m supposed to meet Will and Ansel at the movies in twenty minutes. But I want to talk to you! I miss you so much.”

“I miss you, too, Tim. But I don’t want to make you late for your movie. Go, and tell them I say hi.”

Tim gave a grateful smile. “I will. God, I miss you. I’ll call you later”

“Sounds good. Love you.”

“Love you, too”

And just like that, he was gone. So unsatisfying. Armie missed him more than ever. Armie thought about Tim out with his friends, like a high school boy should be. Not worrying about calling his 24-year old boyfriend.

This was unsustainable. The more Armie thought about it, the more he knew that trying to maintain a four-week relationship over 3000 miles just couldn’t work. His friends were right- he had to cut Tim free to live his own life like a regular high school student, not bound to Armie in any way.

It broke his heart, but it was the right thing to do.


	20. Cor Cordium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy deals with the break-up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was going to reply to each of your lovely (and sad) comments on the last chapter. But instead, I wrote this. Short but sweet (maybe?). Written quickly with very little editing. Forgive the (I'm sure) multiple errors
> 
> xoxoxo

Chapter 20

Cor Cordium

Timmy spent the first 24 hours of Armie’s absence in bed and in tears. He barely ate the dinner that Nicole brought him, pausing in his devastation long enough to nibble on a pork chop. When Armie texted him to say that he had landed, Timmy knew that he had to pull his shit together. He washed his face and blew his nose, and was presentable by the time Armie Facetimed him. But as soon as they hung up, Timmy threw himself back into his bed, burrowed his face into the smell of Armie on his pillow, and began to weep again. He cried himself to sleep that night.

The next day, his mom reminded him that he had work in the afternoon, so he couldn’t spend another day crying in bed. He got in a few more tears before taking a cleansing shower and trudging, reluctantly, off to work. He played text-tag with Armie all day: he texted when Armie was on a run, in the shower, or out with his friends. Armie texted him when he was at work. Timmy sighed; he probably wouldn’t get to talk to him until the next day.

Tuesday was another day of misses with Armie, who was apparently too hungover to call for most of the day. Timmy tried to be understanding- god knows he had been in that situation before- but he was missing his boyfriend something fierce, and another day was passing without contact.

Armie finally Facetimed just as Timmy was getting ready to leave to meet Will and Ansel…of course. All Timmy wanted to do was stay and stare at that tired, gorgeous face, but he had people waiting for him. He had to get off the call far too soon, hanging up and heading out with a heavy heart. Surely, tomorrow would be a better day for them?

The next day, Timmy Facetimed Armie as soon as he got up. It was only 7am on the west coast, but Timmy was anxious to see Armie’s face and hear his voice. He wasn’t prepared for the Armie that picked up the phone- no smile on his face or in his eyes. Timmy didn’t know why, but a wave of dread suddenly swept over him. He tried to ignore it, and put on his brightest smile.

“Good morning, handsome. Did I wake you? I’m sorry, I just miss you so much, and I didn’t want to let another hour pass without seeing you.”

Seconds ticked by, then Armie finally spoke.

“Babe, I miss you, and I love you so much…”

Timmy’s blood ran cold when Armie didn’t look into the screen to meet Timmy’s eyes. 

“I feel like there is a ‘but’ there?” he asked, terrified of the answer.

Armie finally looked into the screen.

“But...I don’t think this is going to work. This long-distance thing. You start school in …”

Timmy cut him off. “What?? No! You don’t get to fucking do this, Armie! You are not in this relationship alone, and I am not going to let you fucking do this! It’s been three fucking days…how can you say that it’s not going to work already? Huh? HOW?”

Timmy was yelling by now, and his heart was pounding. He wasn’t going to let Armie off easy. He knew what they had, and he was going to fight for it. On his screen, Armie’s head was down, and he lifted a swift hand to wipe away an errant tear.

“I’m so sorry, Tim. I’ve thought about this over and over, every possible scenario. I didn’t sleep at all last night; I stayed up trying to figure out a way to make this work. And I can’t. I just fucking can’t.” His voice was dripping with misery.

“Well then you are a fucking LIAR, Armie. You had told me less than a week ago that you were willing to fight for us. That we would find a way to make this work. I don’t understand. Were you lying then, or are you lying now??”

By now, Timmy had tears streaming down his face. He felt desperate. Was this really happening?

Armie sighed, miserably. “I wasn’t lying, Tim. I....I just didn’t know. I hadn’t thought it through. Or maybe I _was_ lying? Lying to myself? I don’t know. I am so sorry.”

Timmy wasn’t willing to give up, but for every argument he had, Armie had an answer. Chills ran down his spine as he realized that Armie really had made up his mind. He was breaking up with Timmy, and there was nothing he could say to change his mind.

Finally, exhausted, Timmy whispered between tears, “I’m going to go. I can’t do this anymore.”

His head was down, so he didn’t see Armie nodding desolately. “I will always love you, Tim. Please take care of yourself.”

Timmy couldn’t take hearing those words. He disconnected the call, and threw himself down on his bed.

The next few days passed in a blur for Timmy. He did the bare minimum that he had to in his life: going to work, choking down some food a few times a day, trying to get some sleep at night. His mom checked on him often after he told her, between wrenching sobs, what had happened, but he didn’t want to talk to her, or anyone. Pauline and Will both came to see him after hearing about the breakup, but Timmy refused to see them, as well.

One day, after a week had passed, Nicole knocked on Timmy’s door.

“Go away,” came the answer. Nicole walked in, anyway.

Timmy bolted up in his bed. “Mom, I didn’t say you could come in!”

Nicole sat down on her son’s bed, concern clouding her eyes.

“Timmy. Sweetie. I know that you are heartbroken. And I am SO SORRY that you and Armie didn’t work out. But it’s been a week, and you start your senior year in ten days. You have to snap out of this. You need to see your friends and work on college applications. We need to go back-to-school shopping. You have to start living your life again, baby.”

She scooted forward and reached out her arms, as if to gather him into a hug. Timmy hesitated, but then fell into his mom’s embrace.

“I know you’re right, mom. But it hurts so much. When will it stop hurting so fucking much?”

“I don’t know, baby. But it will get a little better every day. I promise,” she murmured into his hair.

Timmy started his senior year ten days later. He had listened to his mom, and started to see his friends again. It physically pained him to have to answer questions about his break-up with Armie, but soon all his friends knew, and knew not to ask about it. Timmy was able to fake a happy face during the day, but at night he would lie in bed and look at picture of Armie on his phone, sometimes shedding a tear, sometimes not. He would often open their text chain, tempted to peck out a message pleading for a second chance, but he never did. And every day, he felt a little stronger. He focused on his friends, his school work, his college applications, and his acting.

One day, in the middle of October, he got a message from Brian, his agent: _I’m sending over a book for you. Read it, and tell me what you think._

A few hours later, a messenger dropped off a package, a book: Call Me By Your Name. He had never heard of it, but he immediately took it into his room and started to read.

Four hours later, he was a mess of tears on his bed. Never had a book spoke to him the way that this book had. It was like the author could see into his soul, and hear the contents of his heart. Elio’s experience mirrored his own in a way that was almost shocking, and the end of the book had devastated Timmy. He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling for an hour before finally messaging Brian.

_TC- That book was beautiful. I don’t know if another book as ever affected me the way that this one just did. But why did you send it over?_

_BS- I’m glad it spoke to you. Peter has optioned it to be made into a film. And you are our first choice to play Elio. What do you think?_

Timmy dropped the phone in shock. He had the distinct feeling that his life was about to change.

He quickly texted back- _Yes! It's perfect! Would we film in Italy? When would we start? And who would play Oliver?_

_BS- That is such good news. We have already spoken to your dad, and he is excited for the project, but we wanted to make sure that you were on-board. We're having a meeting at our apartment on Monday to discuss details._

_TC- I'll be there_

Monday morning came, and Timmy and Marc made their way to Brian and Peter’s apartment, Timmy literally vibrating with excitement the entire way. Brian greeted them at the door with tight hugs and a kiss to both cheeks.

“Where’s Peter?” Marc asked, looking down the hall.

Brian smiled. “He’s in the kitchen with the other major players. Let’s go.”

Timmy and Marc followed him down the hall. Brian turned to talk over his shoulder. “Luca is here from Italy to talk about directing, and we think we have already found our Oliver. I think you may know him,” he said with a wink

Brian opened the door to the kitchen, and Timmy came face-to-face with a concerned-looking, but smiling, Armie Hammer.


	21. Regrets, I've Had a Few

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armie has his "come-to-Jesus" moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say this a lot, but this chapter was a bear to write. But it had to be done to get the boys back to together.
> 
> As always, sending my love and appreciation to those of you reading this fic. I appreciate your support, Kudos and comments so much! xoxox

Chapter 21

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

The weeks after Armie broke it off with Timmy were the bleakest of Armie’s life. Before he had made that fateful decision, he had already missed Tim- his face, his body, his voice- more than he ever imagined he would. But after the break-up, when he had so stupidly destroyed even the chance of a Facetime call, a voicemail, or a selfie from Tim….it was devastating.

Armie sleepwalked through his days, distracted by self-doubt and misery. Had he made the right choice? Why had he destroyed the thing in his life that had brought him the most happiness? How could he possibly have believed that by breaking Tim’s heart, he would somehow heal his own? The opposite had actually happened: an essential piece of him was now missing. He was incomplete, imperfect, damaged.

Day after day, he had to resist the relentless temptation to call Tim- to beg for forgiveness, and to find a way to reverse the events of the last few weeks. But he always stopped himself with one thought: yes, he was lonely and miserable. But this wasn’t about him…this was about Tim. 17-year old Tim, starting his first year of high school. Tim, who deserved to finish his education unburdened by a relationship, and be left free to explore his sexuality. Tim, who needed to discover his true self before committing to a long-distance relationship with someone 7 years older.

So, Armie would stop himself. Instead of pressing Tim’s name to call, he would scroll through his pictures for hundredth time, his heart squeezing tight with every passing picture of those green eyes, those cupid lips, those chocolate curls. He would scroll and scroll until his heart cried uncle, and then he would throw his phone down with hopeless frustration. On one of these endless nights, his phone dinged with incoming texts:

_6:32pm Nick- ARMIE! Pick up your damn phone. Been trying to get ahold of you all week. WTF are you doing? We’re meeting for drinks tonight. You need to meet us!_

_8:27pm Ash- Dude, get your ass here. We’re at the Frolic_

_8:45pm Tyler- If you’re not here in 15 minutes, we’re coming to get you_

_9:02pm Tyler- Ok that’s it. We’re on our way_

Armie glanced at the last text that came in, rolled his eyes HARD, then threw his phone back onto the end of the sofa. He was in full couch potato mode: dirty sweat pants, ripped t-shirt, a glass of whiskey, a bag of Doritos, and a showing of the Hangover (which he found after channel surfing for ten minutes) on the television. There was no fucking way he was getting dressed and going into Hollywood for a drink. And he didn’t believe for a second that his friends would leave the bar to come harass him. At least, Armie really hoped that they wouldn’t. He felt like shit, and absolutely could not face the barrage of questions that were inevitable if his friends saw him like this.

Armie settled back onto the couch and resumed the movie. The two glasses of whiskey he’d had earlier were starting to take effect and his eyes were heavy. He laid his head back onto the arm rest, his face closing in on itself in alcohol-induced fatigue.

A banging on the door gave him a start; he groaned, knowing immediately who it was.

“Go away, assholes!” he yelled, not caring if they could hear or not.

“Let us in Hammer! We’re not leaving until you open the door!”

Nick’s voice.

“Knock again. Louder. Maybe he’s sleeping.”

Ash.

“He’s not sleeping. It’s only 9:30. Get outa the way. Let me try.”

Tyler’s voice. Then the banging sounded through the studio again.

_Fuck. They’re not going to let up,_ Armie thought with an irritated sigh.

With some difficulty, Armie hauled himself off of the couch and walked over to let his friends in. All three boys fell through the door, laughing and giving him shit, but Nick also shot him a concerned look. They followed him to the kitchen area and began to rummage through his refrigerator. 

Eventually, the three friends had secured beverages, and Armie had refilled his own whiskey glass. They made their way back to the living room area, each claiming a spot on the floor or couch. Armie pulled over a chair from the kitchen table.

“So,” Nick, of course, was the one to start, “what the hell is going on with you, Arms? You’re not answering texts or calls. You’re blowing off drinks. You’ve been completely absent on social media. And frankly, you look like shit.”

Armie threw him an annoyed look and took a gulp of whiskey. “Thanks for that. ‘Preciate it.”

“Dude, you know what I mean. When was the last time you showered? Or washed those sweatpants?”

Ash chimed in from his place on the floor, leaning against the couch. “This is about Tim, isn’t it?”

Armie opened his mouth to protest, but found that he couldn’t. He didn’t have it in him to lie, to make up some excuse as to why he’d disappeared for the last few weeks. He sat there with his mouth hanging open like a startled guppy, then eventually closed it, resigned to the truth, and nodded.

The three friends sat in stunned silence. Armie Hammer…letting himself go over heartbreak? It was unheard of. And over a 17 year-old boy, no less. Finally, Ash spoke.

“Does he love you as much as you love him?”

Armie shrugged, then nodded miserably. “I think so, yes.”

But then he lifted his eyes to his friends, pleading with them for an answer. “But, just like you guys said, he’s 17. He’s too young. He has to live his life. He can’t wait around for me…right?”

There was a moment of silence, then Nick cleared his throat, as if he had something important to say. “Arms, we fucked up. We gave you bad advice. You know I hate to admit when I’m wrong, but I was wrong. If he loves you as much as you love him, it shouldn’t have been on you to decide whether or not he should stay with you. Dude… you need to fix this.”

Hearing those words, Armie collapsed his head into his arms. “I know. I want to. But how?”

Like magpie twins, Ash and Tyler commanded at the same time, “Call him!”

Armie nodded. He knew what he had to do. But not now…he was drunk and it was after midnight in New York. He would call tomorrow.

The next morning, Armie was startled awake by the ringing of his phone, followed almost immediately by the ping of an incoming text. He took off the pillow that was covering his eyes and was immediately hit with the double whammy of mid-morning sun and a blinding headache. Fuck, too much whiskey last night.

He had a missed call and a text from his agent, Brandon, telling him to give him a call ASAP. Armie’s mood immediately buoyed. Brandon only sent texts like that when it was good news. Maybe it was about his audition for the body spray commercial last week?

Armie sat up and cleared his throat, hoping that he did not sound like he was hungover and still in bed.

“Armie! My man! How’s it going?” Brandon always sounded incredibly happy to hear from Armie.

“Not bad, not bad, Brandon. What’s up? I had a missed call _and_ a text from you. Something good, I hope?”

“Oh, do I have some interesting news for you. Can you meet me at my office this afternoon?”

The call to Tim would have to wait.

Armie left Brandon’s office later that afternoon, his head swimming. There was so much information to process- all very good, but potentially life-changing, news. First, Brandon had told him that the part of Spike in the off-Broadway play he had participated with his program had been vacated, and the producers were offering the part to Armie for the rest of the show’s run.

Then he hit him with even bigger news- he was being considered for a part in a new movie set in Italy…possibly playing opposite Tim. Brandon was unaware of Armie and Tim’s relationship, and when he mentioned Tim’s name, Armie had to stop himself from gasping. Brandon gave him a copy of the book the movie was to be based on- a gay coming-of-age romance, Call Me By Your Name. Armie had never heard of it, but he was immediately intrigued. Brandon gave him the details: he was to fly to New York City in five days to meet with the movie’s producer, Peter Spears. Armie vaguely recalled meeting Peter after Tim’s play, but had no idea at the time what an important introduction that had been.

When he got home, Armie called Peter to discuss the part and the logistics of Armie’s trip to New York. Peter confirmed that while they were in talks with Marc about the part for Tim, Tim was not yet aware. If he was interested, he would be at the meeting on Monday.

Armie hung up the phone, stunned. He would most likely be seeing Tim in five days. What would he say? He missed his ex so much that it physically pained him, and now he might be moving back to the same city. Armie knew what he wanted- he wanted Tim back. But how could he make that happen? How could he prove to Tim that he had made a mistake, and that they should be together? He had a lot to think about in the next few days.

Peter paid for Armie to fly out to New York and put him up at the Sanctuary Hotel in the theater district. Armie had never been courted for a role before and, as he looked around his upscale hotel room, he thought that he could get used to it. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was time to leave for his meeting. He and Luca, the director who would most likely be at the helm of the film, were meeting with Peter and Brian an hour before Tim and Marc were to arrive. Armie had read the book on the flight to New York, and was becoming more excited by the minute. And after reading the book, he had to admit- casting him and Tim would be a spot-on choice.

Armie was intensely relieved to have time to talk with them and prepare before having to face Tim. He had no idea how Tim would react to seeing him. Would he be excited and happy that Armie was there? Or was he still harboring feeling of hurt or anger towards Armie for the breakup? Armie hoped for the former, but knew that it would most likely be the latter. His plan was to talk to Tim privately after the meeting.

Armie was welcomed warmly to Brian and Peter’s beautiful apartment, and they took him back to meet Luca, the director. Armie felt am immediate connection with the Italian director. He hugged Armie like an old friend, kissing him on both cheeks, then proclaimed him to be Oliver.

“I knew it. When I saw the picture of you, I said, this is my Oliver. And now, seeing you here… there is no one else. I hope you will consider the part.”

They talked in the kitchen about Luca’s vision for the film, and Armie became more and more excited for the part as Luca described a sensual film filled with lush visual details. Luca was describing his ideas for the villa, when the doorbell sounded. Armie’s heart skipped a beat. Tim was here.

He tried to focus on what Luca was saying, but his entire body was frozen with attention, listening for the sound of Tim’s voice. He attempted to fix his face to look friendly, pleasant, but he was so nervous and excited to see Tim again, that he had no idea what his features were actually doing.

He heard Brian’s sonorous voice sounding through the apartment, “Luca is here from Italy to talk about directing, and we think we have already found our Oliver. I think you may know him…”

And then there was Tim, standing in the kitchen door with Marc and Brian, staring directly at Armie, wearing an expression of complete and utter shock. Armie arranged his face into a smile.

“Hi, Tim. Surprise?”

Tim blinked once, twice, a third time. Then he seemed to recover, turned away from Armie, and greeted Luca.

“I love your films, Mr. Guadagnino. I’d be so honored to work with you.”

“Please, Timmy, call me Luca,” he said, pulling Tim into a warm hug.

Armie stood by, trying not to feel hurt, reminding himself that this was his doing. He had some work ahead of him to heal this relationship.


	22. Putting the Pieces Back Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make their way back to each to other, slowly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had originally planned on ending this chapter with a wee bit of smut, but I've decided to put it off until the next chapter. Please forgive me!!!
> 
> As always, thank you all for your support! It means everything to me! And remember, authors love comments!  
> xoxox

Chapter 22

Putting the Pieces Back Together

Timmy stood in the doorway to the kitchen, frozen in his spot at the sight of Armie. A dozen thoughts flashed through his brain at once, the loudest one a resounding _What the fuck?!,_ followed quickly by _Armie is Oliver. He is here. I’m going to have to talk to him, work with him. God, he looks good. What a fucking dick! I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he would be here. How am I going to do this? What am I going to say? I can’t deal with this right now. I can’t deal with HIM right now. Luca. I will talk to Luca._

“I love your films, Mr. Guadagnino. I’d be so honored to work with you.”

“Please, Timmy, call me Luca,” Luca responded, and pulled Timmy into a long, warm hug. Timmy embraced Luca, but chanced a quick look at Armie, who was watching their exchange looking small and hurt. Timmy felt a pang in his heart- he had never seen Armie like that- but then deliberately ignored it. This was business; he and Armie would have to work out their issues later.

Peter and Brian brought out coffee and a spread of bagels, toppings, and fruit for the group. Everyone made themselves a plate and settled in to talk. Peter gave what little details they had so far, but the planning was still in its infancy. Now that Luca was on-board, particulars like location, additional casting, and a shooting schedule could start to be hammered out. The hope was to start filming the following spring, but a lot had to happen first, including securing additional funding.

As the group conversed, Timmy glanced over at Armie across the table several times. And each time, Armie’s gaze was on Timmy. Their eyes would meet, and then both would look quickly away. Once, Armie attempted a small smile at Timmy, but Timmy just gave a scowl and turned away. How could he concentrate like this? Armie pressed his lips together and looked down.

After talking for a few hours around the kitchen table about the movie, Italy, Andre and the book, and so many other topics, the group took a break to move to the living room. Armie stood up to stretch his considerable frame, then left to use the restroom. Timmy watched him leave, then, after a moment’s consideration, got up to follow him.

Timmy stood outside the bathroom door, nervously waiting to confront Armie. He had no idea what he wanted to say; he just wanted some answers. The toilet flushed and a moment later the door opened and Armie walked out, zipping up his pants. He stopped short when he almost walked into Timmy. His face flushed at the unexpected encounter.

“Tim! I…we need to talk. Can we go somewhere after the meeting?” Armie stammered, anxiety clouding his eyes.

Timmy shook his head. “No. Now. In the bathroom.”

He slid past Armie into the bathroom; Armie realized he had no choice but to turn on his heels and follow him back into the small room, shutting the door behind him. Timmy stood waiting for him leaning against the sink, arms crossed, his face a mask as he waited to hear what Armie had to say. Armie heaved a heavy sigh, preparing himself to grovel.

“Tim…fuck, where do I start?” He paused, raking his hands through his hair, momentarily speechless despite all he had to say.

“Why don’t you start with why you didn’t tell me that you would be here? How long have you been in New York for, Armie? And how long have you known about this part?”

“I just found out a few days ago, Tim, I swear. Brandon- that’s my agent- said that you hadn’t been told yet. And when I talked to Peter, he asked for me to wait to talk to you. I just got in yesterday…last night. But I should have called you then; I am so sorry.”

He put a tentative hand on Timmy’s shoulder, but Timmy shook it off, still upset. Timmy opened his mouth to speak, but Armie cut him off.

“Wait, there’s more I have to say, Tim. Before I found out I was being offered this part…right before, actually… I realized that I had to fight for you. To fight for us. Fuck Tim, I made a huge mistake, and I am so, so sorry. I never should have made the decision to end our relationship without you. Actually…I just should never have made that decision to end our relationship, period. Please, you have to believe me. I love you and I miss you. I want to be with you, if that’s what you still want.”

Sometime during this speech, Armie had taken one of Timmy’s hands in his own, and Timmy had not pulled away. He listened to Armie talk wordlessly, in shock. He looked up into Armie’s pleading blue eyes, and he knew that he was still hopelessly in love with the idiot. But it was all just too much to think about right now. He stood silently.

“Please, Tim…say something…” Armie looked miserable, waiting for a response from Tim.

Timmy gently pulled his hand out of Armie’s; Armie stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, hurt, and waited. Timmy sighed and rubbed his eyes, tired and confused.

“I still love you, too, Armie. Of course I do. But you really fucked me up. You hurt me SO BADLY. How can I trust you now? I…I just don’t know. I need time.”

Timmy glanced up at Armie, who was nodding sadly, and a single tear rolled slowly down his cheek. Seeing that one tear did something violent to Timmy’s heart; he felt his defenses suddenly shatter into a thousand pieces. He wanted to be strong; he wanted to resist and take time to think rationally. But with Armie right in front of him, telling him that he still loved him, begging for forgiveness, wanting him back- he simply wasn’t strong enough.

“Fuck, Armie.” Timmy's voice broke with emotion. “Come here. I hate you. I really hate you.”

He turned to Armie and wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face into Armie’s broad, warm chest. He immediately felt safe, like he was home. Armie quickly responded, laying his head onto Timmy’s shoulder and holding him in a vice grip, never wanting to let go. They stood like that for several minutes, Armie murmuring into Timmy’s neck, “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Timmy was the first to pull away, albeit reluctantly. “We need to get back.”

Armie sighed, nodded. “Can we talk more after the meeting?”

“For sure.”

The boys returned to the living room together, and Marc shot Timmy a questioning look. Timmy gave a quick shrug, mouthing the words, “I’ll tell you later.” Timmy’s eyes scanned the room to see if anyone else had noticed their entrance together. Brian and Peter were deep in conversation with Luca, but Luca glanced up and gave Timmy a small smile and nod, as if he approved. Timmy returned the smile, but was taken aback. What did Luca know?

The group finished the meeting soon after; Peter promised to keep everyone apprised as plans progressed and financing was secured. Marc, Luca, Armie and Timmy walked out of the apartment together, stopping on the sidewalk to chat.

“So,” Marc said, “should we grab some dinner?”

Luca gave another enigmatic smile. “Why don’t you and I have some dinner? I think these two need to talk.”

Marc’s eyebrows shot up as he regarded Armie and Timmy. “Is that so?”

Armie and Timmy glanced at each other, then Armie responded. “Yes. I think we do. Is that alright with you, Tim?”

Timmy’s heart was beating quickly. He knew they needed to have an important conversation, but he was nervous to be alone with Armie. He gave a quick nod.

“Ok, well you two do what you need to do. Luca and I will see you later.”

The group gave leave of each other after a round of cheek kisses and pats on the back. When Timmy went to say goodbye to Luca, he gave Timmy a quick kiss, then whispered in his ear, “He has great love for you. I see it every time he looks your way. Forgive him.”

Timmy pulled back and looked at Luca in shock. How did Luca know so much? Luca gave him a Cheshire Cat grin, and Timmy couldn’t think of a thing to do but wave goodbye.

Armie and Timmy decided on a pizzeria near Armie’s hotel. They took off down the street, both in a state of enhanced awareness of the other. Armie tried to make small talk as they walked, until it became apparent that they were both too nervous to chit-chat. They walked the rest of the way in silence, each stealing glances at the other as they made their way through Manhattan.

__________________________________________

Armie did not mind the silence as they walked to the pizzeria. He did not regret that he had shamelessly groveled to Tim earlier. He wasn’t even embarrassed that he had started to cry in the bathroom. No, he did not regret any of it, because it had all brought him to this moment- Tim had confessed that he still loved Armie, he had hugged him back, and he was now going to have dinner with Tim so that they could talk about their future. Armie had only gratitude that Tim was possibly willing to give him a second chance. He was walking on air.

At the pizzeria, Armie requested a quiet table near the back. The waitress led them to a booth with high backs at the very rear of the restaurant- it was perfect for the conversation that they needed to have. They settled in and ordered drinks. Timmy leaned forward, his chest against the edge of the table, his hands tucked between his knees. He looked as nervous as Armie felt.

“Thank you for coming, Tim,” Armie started. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you would speak to me at all today.”

Tim kept his head down for a moment, chewing on his lip. He eventually looked up, and Armie’s heart gave a tug at his beauty. He would do anything for this boy.

“I wanted to stay mad at you, Armie. You made a promise to me, and you broke it. You fucking DUMPED me, from 3000 miles away! Do you know how hard that was for me?”

“I know, and I am so sorry, Tim. If it makes things any better, it was so hard for me, too. Even though I had made the decision, my heart was still ripped apart. I missed you every fucking day. I wondered almost immediately if I had made a mistake.”

Timmy’s face contorted with frustration. “Well, then why didn’t you call and FIX it? I thought you would. I was so fucking dumb, I really thought that you would eventually call and beg for me back. But you never did…”

Timmy’s eyes glassed over with unshed tears; he wiped them away angrily. Armie reached across the table for Timmy’s hand, but Timmy kept his arms resolutely under the table. Armie picked up a fork and turned it in his hands.

“I don’t know. I thought I was protecting you. I was an idiot. That’s what it really comes down to…I was a fucking idiot. Please Tim…forgive me so we can start over?”

At that moment, the waitress dropped off the drinks. The boys each took a sip of their beverage, Timmy seemingly lost in this thoughts, Armie waiting eagerly for a response.

Timmy put down his glass. “So…you’re moving to New York?”

Armie couldn’t suppress a wide smile. “I am. I’m actually looking at apartments tomorrow. I need to move here by the end of the month. I take over the role of Spike on November first.”

Timmy threw Armie a proud look. “That’s so wonderful, Armie. You are going to kill it. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you. I…I would really love for you and your family to be there on my first night.” He waited for Tim to reply, feeling like a small, scared boy.

Tim finally took his arms out from under the table, and reached for Armie. “Of course I’ll be there.” He sighed. “Fuck Armie, if you are going to be here, I want to be with you. I don’t have it in me to pretend otherwise.”

Armie dropped the fork and gratefully took Tim’s cool, thin hands into his own large ones, closing around them completely. 

“I love you, Tim. I never stopped loving you. And I’m going to make up for my mistake to you every day for the rest of my life if I have to.” He leaned down, and brought Tim’s hands to his lips, delivering a soft, grateful kiss.

The waitress came at that moment, asking for their order; Armie ordered their large half cheese, half pepperoni and sausage pizza. Just as she was about to walk away, Tim stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Could we have that pizza to go, please?”

The boys stepped out of the restaurant into the cool October air. Armie inhaled a deep breath, enjoying the crisp smell of an East Coast fall night. They took off down the avenue towards Armie’s hotel. It had been Tim’s idea to take the pizza to Armie’s room- so they could talk more in private, he had explained. Armie did not want to get his hopes up, but the thought of being alone with Tim in his hotel room sent shivers up his spine.

The tension between them had dissolved somewhat since before the restaurant, and they were able to make normal small talk on the walk to the hotel. Armie described the fateful phone call from his agent the previous week, and Timmy told him about the book being messaged to his house. Before they knew it, they were at Sanctuary, waiting for the elevator in the lobby.

Armie turned to Tim, bumping the pizza against his arm. “It feels so good to just talk to you. I’ve missed this. I have so much I want to tell you, Tim.”

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Tim followed Armie into the small space.

“Hit 7, please.” Tim pushed the button, then leaned against the wall, facing Armie.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” Tim licked his lips, and looked at Armie through his eyelashes. He was done talking for the moment. “But first, I want you to show me how much you missed me.”

As the elevator slid open on the seventh floor, all Armie could do was nod.


	23. Making Up for Lost Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter says....the boys start to make up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer delay in posting than normal; my work and home life have been super busy. This fic is winding down...only a few more chapters left!
> 
> As always, thank you to my readers for comments and Kudos. They are my life-blood and are so, so appreciated! xoxox

Chapter 23

Making Up for Lost Time

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” Tim said with a lick of his lips, gazing at Armie through his eyelashes. He was done talking. “But first, I want you to show me how much you’ve missed me.”

As the elevator slid open on the seventh floor, all Armie could do was nod and clench the pizza box tight to keep himself from running to his hotel room door. He led the way down the hall, his room thankfully only a few doors from the elevator. He took a few deep, steadying breathes as they walked, his heart beating out of his chest.

He stopped in front of room 712. “This is me. Hold this, please?”

He handed the pizza to Tim, then fumbled through his pockets for his key card. He finally dug it out of his front pocket, but then it slipped clumsily through his fingers as he was putting it up to the door.

“You ok?” Timmy chuckled.

“Yeah, just a bit nervous,” Armie replied as he squatted down to retrieve the card. He unlocked the door then opened it with a flourish, relieved that he was able to complete this simple task. “This is me,” he repeated. 

He held the door wide for Timmy, who entered the room with an impressed whistle.

“Wow, nice. Peter pulled out all the stops for you, huh?”

Armie followed Timmy into the room and looked around. He had to admit, it was a gorgeous suite- white, modern furnishings with leather accents. It was not a hotel that Armie would normally be able to afford.

Timmy put the pizza down on a table and looked expectantly at Armie. Armie took in the sight of him- curls askew from the wind, his cheeks still flushed from the walk (and maybe something else?)- and swallowed. He had missed Tim every minute of every day for the last two months, and now he was here, standing in front of him, just waiting. Armie wanted to do everything at once- kiss him, hold him, caress him…devour him.

“Tim…” he breathed, readying himself to ask for consent to kiss, but Tim was already moving across the room, closing the distance between them in three long strides. He grabbed Armie roughly by the arms, and pressed their lips together in a fierce kiss, a desperate bit of contact to make up for two long months of longing and hurt.

Armie moaned, his body already responding to having Tim’s lean form pressed against his own. Fuck, he had missed this boy. He let Tim take the lead for a moment, opening his mouth slightly to let Tim’s tongue slide in. He tasted just as Armie remembered, sweet and addicting. There was no one else in the universe that could make Armie feel like this- his brain fizzed with want, as if filled with carbonation.

He pulled away, reluctantly. He didn’t want to rush their reunion. “Are you sure you want to do this, Tim? Should we talk more?”

“Probably…but I want this now, Armie. I need to feel you. I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

That was all Armie needed to hear. He scooped up Timmy in his strong arms, bridal-style, and laid him gently across the bed, a precious thing to be treasured. Timmy spread his legs so Armie could crawl between them; Armie ran his hands up Timmy’s long legs, pausing when they reached his narrow waist.

“You are still mine, Tim. Every fucking inch of you.”

He gave Tim a slow deep kiss, then he rucked up Timmy’s t-shirt, exposing his firm, flat stomach. He laid a thick hand on Timmy’s abdomen, reverently stroking his palm up and down the length of his torso, marveling at Tim’s smooth, pale skin. He bent down to kiss and nibble at the exposed flesh, dipping his tongue into his naval.

“This skin, these muscles,” he mumbled as his mouth followed the trail of downy hair from Timmy’s lower belly to the waistband of his jeans. He impatiently unbuttoned them then tugged them down until Timmy’s hips were revealed, the bones protruding provocatively. Armie immediately took one in his mouth as Timmy hummed appreciatively from above.

“These hips. God, Tim… you are so fucking sexy.”

He glanced up to check in with Tim; he had his head thrown back in something close to bliss, his curls splayed against the hotel comforter. It had been eight long weeks since Timmy had felt Armie’s strong hands and hot tongue on him. He was so turned on- seeing Armie wedged between his legs with the feel of his lips on his skin, he couldn’t think straight.

“Armie, I am so hard. I need you. Please,” he panted. Just saying the words out loud made him that much closer to coming. 

Armie took a deep breath. There was something he had to know before things progressed.

“Tim, have you been with anyone else since we broke up?” Armie terrified to hear the answer, but he had to know.

Tim sat up then, to look directly into Armie’s eyes. He looked wounded, as if it physically hurt him to have had Armie ask him that, and to have to answer.

“No one, Armie. I couldn’t even think of being with someone else. I…I only ever want to be with you.”

With great relief, Armie yanked down Timmy’s jeans down past his knees, then used a foot to kick them off his legs, onto the floor. Timmy’s erection bulged through his boxers, damp and demanding of attention. Armie moaned at the sight of it, pressing his lips against the cloth of Tim’s underwear, unwilling to wait even another second to feel his length in his mouth.

“Mine,” he repeated into the soft folds of Tim’s boxers, as if in prayer. Tim pulled off his shirt, then lifted his hips so he could shimmy out of his underwear and lay himself bare to Armie. He reveled in being naked for Armie; he wanted to feel his worshipful eyes and hands on his skin. He needed Armie to prove to him that he did still want and love him, and that he regretted tossing him aside so callously.

Armie took in the sight of his beautiful boyfriend, vulnerable and precious. His own cock was full and heavy, but he ignored that for the moment in favor of just savoring the gift that had been granted him. Armie was eager to prove that his desire for Tim had not diminished, as well. He took Tim’s hard cock in his one hand; his other hand slid under Tim to cup his round ass. His large hand covered most of Timmy’s erection, and Armie licked his head, around and around, until Timmy moaned from above him. .

“Fuck, Armie- stop being a literal cock tease.”

Armie pulled up and smiled. “I just want to enjoy every second of this, but I can still you’re still impatient.”

“It’s been two months. I deserve to be a little impatient,” Timmy protested with a whine.

Armie chuckled, then pulled off his own shirt in one motion, wanting to feel his skin against Tim. ‘You’re right. As always.”

And with that, he bent down and took Timmy fully in his mouth. Timmy gasped in pleasure, rolling his hips before he could stop himself. Armie gagged a bit, but stayed on course, his mouth traveling up and down the length of Tim, licking his head, down his shaft, then pausing to suck on his balls. Every movement made Timmy moan or call out Armie’s name. Armie was relieved that they were in an expensive hotel with thick walls- he had forgotten how loud his boyfriend was when he was being pleasured.

Tim clutched hard at Armie’s shoulders- his tell that he was close to coming. Armie picked up the pace, taking Tim into his wet, hot mouth all the way down until his nose was buried in his soft pubic hair, then back up again, his tongue pressed against the smooth skin of Tim’s dick. His head bobbed faster and faster, until Tim’s finger nails dug into his skin, almost drawing blood, and Armie felt his body shudder with a thunderous orgasm, eight weeks in the making.

Armie swallowed down Tim’s release, so happy and grateful to be back with him, to be the one making him feel so good. He kept Tim in his mouth for a few seconds while Tim’s heartbeat steadied, until the iron grip Tim had on his shoulder relaxed a bit. He pulled off with a quick swipe of his hand across his lips, then crawled up to hold Tim and kiss him softly. He nuzzled into Tim’s chest, listening to his quick breaths as he recovered from the blowjob.

“Was that ok?” Armie asked, as if Tim’s bodily reaction wasn’t enough of an indication.

Tim took a final deep breath, then laughed softly. “Was that ok?” he repeated back to Armie, in a fond mimic. “Yeah, that was pretty ok. I mean, it was a start….”

Armie pulled back to give an incredulous look at Tim’s smirking face. “A start?? Alright, I deserved that. I will give you a thousand blowjobs, if that’s what you want, Tim.”

They boys laid like that, skin-on-skin, just reveling in the miracle of the circumstances that had brought them back together. Timmy still struggled with how easily he had given in to Armie, forgiving him then following him to his room and his bed. However, he knew Armie, and could see in his eyes how sorry he was for what he had done to Timmy. Armie still loved him, he had zero doubts of that anymore. And how he could he turn away from this beautiful, smart, talented man?

In the deep recesses of his mind, Timmy had sometimes wondered what Armie had seen in him, a gangly, goofy high school theater kid. So when he broke off their relationship, it just confirmed to Timmy what he suspected- it was a fling, and he didn’t mean as much to Armie as Armie meant to him. But the way Armie spoke to him today- desperate for forgiveness, like a man lost in love- Timmy realized that Armie’s feelings were as deep and real as his own. He seemed ready to make up what he had done to Timmy and move ahead with their relationship. And Timmy was ready for that, too.

Timmy gave a contented sigh; Armie kissed his chest in response, then pushed himself up to check in with Timmy.

“I could stay here for the rest of the night, but I am _starving_. Should we get dressed and eat some cold pizza?”

Timmy put on his underwear and t-shirt, while Armie shrugged on his own shirt. He grabbed a towel and lay it across the bed, then threw the pizza box on top.

“Pizza picnic on the bed,” Timmy grinned, grabbing a slice from the cheese side of the pie. They boys ate in amiable silence. Eventually Timmy broke the quiet.

“So, where are you looking at apartments? Near me, or…?”

“I wish,” Armie sighed. “I don’t know if I can afford anything close by. I’m going to look at a few studios uptown, in Washington Heights and East Harlem, then a couple of one bedrooms in Queens and Brooklyn. I’d rather stay in Manhattan, though, if I can.”

Timmy gazed at Armie across the bed, disheveled but still objectively gorgeous, shaking his head in wonder. He was still in shock that Armie was moving to New York, like it was a dream he was terrified he might wake up from.

“So…what will you being back here mean? I mean…for us?” Timmy asked. Armie had said earlier that he wanted Timmy back, but he needed to hear it again. He needed to know HOW it was going to work.

Armie set down his slice.

“Tim. I told you- I am all in for us. What that means on a day-to-day basis, I’m not sure yet. I don’t know what my schedule will be once I start the show. But I need to be with you. We will figure it out.”

Tim nodded, his heart melting- not just with love, but also a simple and pure fondness for Armie. They would figure it out.

They boys finished the pizza, trying their best to fill in the missing details from the last eight weeks of their lives. Timmy told Armie that he had gotten the lead in the fall musical at his school, Sweet Charity, and was sending off the last of his college applications. How the film in Italy could impact his college, Timmy couldn’t guess, but he had decided to take things as they came. Armie told Tim about auditions he had been on, and a commercial he had filmed. Both boys left out the pain and misery they had simultaneously been engulfed in while apart from the other, instead keeping the conversation light.

Once the pizza was devoured, Armie scooted closer to Timmy and took him in his arms. “Stay with me tonight?”

Timmy’s face fell with regret. “I have school tomorrow. I missed today, and I actually have a test tomorrow that I am utterly unprepared for. I need to go soon.”

Armie nodded, taking on the role of the understanding boyfriend. This sort of thing was going to happen; Tim _was_ still in high school.

He gave Tim a tight squeeze. “I’ll call you an Uber. Dinner tomorrow? I can tell you all about my adventures in apartment hunting all over the five boroughs?”

Tim breathed in the scent of Armie, wanting to live in his strong arms forever. “Dinner tomorrow. It’s a plan.”

And he left Armie that night knowing that from that point on, their plans would be together, and it felt so good.


	24. Exploring New Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sundays are for smut! The boys finally have some privacy and use it to experiment a bit... Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to my readers for you support!! I love you all and appreciate every comment, every Kudos, every reblog and like on Tumblr. It does not go unseen!
> 
> Also, for those of you worried... Charmie forever! xoxox

Chapter 24

New Territory

November 2019

Timmy strolled up the sidewalk of Riverside Drive, checking the numbers on the passing buildings against the address Armie had given him, now programmed into his phone. After a pleasant five-minute walk from the subway stop, he reached the Armie’s new home- an attractive but nondescript apartment building in a neighborhood of attractive but nondescript apartment buildings. Timmy found Armie’s unit on the list of tenants- 5A- and called up. Armie buzzed him in without responding through the intercom.

Timmy bounced on his toes as he waited for the elevator in the clean but sparsely furnished lobby. So far, he was impressed with Armie’s new digs. The neighborhood seemed safe, the lobby was nice, there was an elevator, and Armie didn’t even have a roommate. Timmy grinned as he thought about having an apartment all to themselves, fantasies of christening every room beginning to gestate in his young, horny mind. Just as an image of Armie taking him against the kitchen counter began to form in his brain, the elevator door slid open, and Timmy entered the thankfully empty space.

He checked for a camera once he was in the lift, and seeing none, pressed his palm hard against his growing erection. It had been almost a week since he’d seen Armie, who had been flying between Los Angeles and Manhattan for the last month. He was moving his things either into storage or across the country, and finishing up some last minute business in California. He had arrived back in NYC the previous night from his final cross-coastal trip. It was official- he was now a resident of Manhattan.

Timmy exited the elevator and heard Armie before he saw him: a loud, rhythmic thumping, almost like an elephant stampeding through the jungle. The noise got louder until Armie rounded the corner, running towards Timmy like a madman.

“You’re here!” he said excitedly, as he scooped up Timmy in his arms and twirled him around in a tight circle.

“Yes, I’m here, you nut! Put me down!” Timmy replied with a laugh, trying to wiggle away.

Armie set him down and swept him into a dramatic, deep kiss, right in the middle of the hallway. Timmy responded eagerly, but then pulled back in the middle of the kiss.

“Shouldn’t we go to your apartment? Your neighbors might see us…”

Armie laughed, taking Tim’s hand and pulling him down the hallway to his new apartment.

“You know what, Tim? I don’t give a fuck. I am so happy to finally be here, and to have you with me…I honestly don’t care what my neighbors think.”

Timmy decided that if Armie didn’t care, he certainly didn’t. He gave a shrug and let Armie lead the way.

Armie had left the door to his new home open, so Timmy followed him into the bright, airy space. The apartment seemed spacious, with a large kitchen and beautiful hardwood floors. The outer wall of the unit was made of exposed brick and featured several large windows; a single interior wall divided the cozy living room from Armie’s bedroom and bath.

Timmy’s shed his coat and boots, then leaned against the kitchen counter, his eyes widening as he took in each detail. “Wow, Armie. It’s gorgeous! But…how are you affording this?”

“Not that you it should concern you, but I’m making decent money on the play. And I have some pretty consistent residual checks coming in from a few of the commercials I did last year.”

He walked over to where Timmy was leaning and boxed him in with two thick arms. He nuzzled into Timmy’s neck until he let out a giggle.

“I can afford it, babe. Don’t worry about it,” he murmured into Timmy’s ear.

Timmy threw his head back, giving Armie access to his throat. “Give me a tour?” he moaned as Armie began to suck his Adam’s apple.

Armie pulled back with a chuckle. “A tour? You mean… you want to see the bedroom?”

He leaned back and regarded Timmy with raised eyebrows.

Timmy started to protest, but quickly realized that Armie would see right through any false prudery.

“I feel called out,” he replied sheepishly. “I mean, it’s been almost A WEEK!”

Armie laughed. “This is what I get, dating a 17 year old. Are you going to slow down next month, once you’re 18?”

Timmy looked wounded. “Do you want me to? I can’t help that you are, like, stupid hot all the time.”

Armie snorted, then took Timmy’s hand and tugged him across the apartment.

“Come on. Actually, there is something I want to show you. This apartment came furnished, and I am quite fond of the bed that it came with.”

Timmy followed Armie into the bedroom with great curiosity. What could be so special about a bed that Armie was “quite fond” of it? He stepped into the space and was impressed with how large it was for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And then he noticed the bed: a massive four-poster behemoth, which dominated the bulk of the sleeping quarters. He hopped up onto extravagant piece of furniture, then draped himself sensually across the bedspread.

“So, I am guessing that THIS is why you chose this specific apartment?”

Armie gazed at this boyfriend, currently spread-eagle across his bed, licking his lips at the sight.

“The apartment had a lot of details that I liked but, yes…I would say the bed tipped the scales in favor of this particular choice.”

Timmy rolled onto his stomach and regarded the wooden poles that flanked each corner of the bed; he seemed to be working out something out in his mind. He reached out and caressed the polished wood of one of the pieces at the head of the bed, then turned to Armie with a smirk.

“I see.”

He suddenly rolled onto his back, reaching both arms up over his head, stretching his limbs out in all four directions, like a modern-day Vitruvian Man. He grinned mischievously at Armie.

“Was it just the _size_ of the bed that you liked? Or, something else, maybe?”

Armie huffed out a laugh and pushed his hands through his hair. “You little shit. Do you know what you are doing to me? And yes…I did have a few, uh, _ideas_ that this bed might be good for.”

Timmy bit his lip in what he hoped was an innocent expression. “Show me.”

“Now? You just got here…” Armie was stalling, not sure how far Timmy wanted to take this bit of play.

“What? You’ve got plans?” Timmy sat up on his elbows, playfully challenging his boyfriend. Joking, yet not.

It had been just a few weeks since the boys had reconciled…a few weeks of sweaty, ferocious, back-breaking sex; the kind that leaves marked skin and sore muscles. They fucked whenever they could and, really, wherever they could. Armie didn’t yet have his apartment, so it usually had to happen in a hotel room or, less frequently, in Timmy’s bedroom when his parents were out.

But now…now they had their own private space, to do with as they pleased. To fulfill some of those fantasies that Armie had whispered into Timmy’s ear during secret, uninhibited moments, usually right before or right after they’d had sex.

_I want to tie you up and wreck you. I want to lay you out in front of me, naked and helpless, and take you apart, piece by piece. I want to make you come so hard , you forget your name._

Armie and Tim regarded each other for a long moment, both thinking of these words, and what they meant. Suddenly, Armie turned on his heel and walked to his closet, returning quickly carrying two red silk ties. Timmy’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. He realized that if he _were_ joking and if he wasn’t actually ready for this step, now was the time to speak up.

Fuck it, he was ready.

“What’s your safe word, Tim?” Armie asked calmly. He was only marginally more experienced with this type of sex play than Tim, having experimented with a girlfriend back in Los Angeles. He knew that it was up to him to take the lead, and to do so with confidence, to make sure Tim felt comfortable.

Timmy’s forehead crinkled as he thought of an adequate word.

“Um, how about peaches?”

Armie chuckled softly at their shared reference.

“Peaches it is. Please take off your shirt and pants. I think today I’m only going to tie your wrists. Is that okay?’

Timmy nodded quickly, wiggling out of this shirt and jeans, then stretching his lithe body out on the bed to assist Armie in his task. Armie shook his head in wonder at the sight in front of him- his beautiful naked boyfriend, readying himself to submit. He cock swelled with want.

Armie ran a single finger from Timmy’s shoulder, down his thin arm, all the way to his wrist. He lifted it gently and gave it a soft kiss. His eyes grew dark as he took one of Timmy’s fingers in his mouth, and gently sucked. Timmy was biting his lower lip, trying to maintain some restraint, but once his finger was buried in the warm, wet recesses of Armie’s mouth, he gave up his self-control and let out a moan.

“Like that, do you?” Armie asked with a self-satisfied smirk. He gently looped one of the ties around Timmy’s wrist, then fastened it to the nearby wooden post.

“Does that feel ok? Not too tight?” Armie asked as he walked around the bed to tie Timmy’s other wrist. Timmy shook his head ‘no,’ too overwhelmed and turned on to actually speak.

“Babe, Tim, I need to actually hear that you are alright,” Armie repeated as he tied Timmy’s other wrist. He gave a tug to make sure it was secure, then stepped back to survey his work.

“I’m ok,” Timmy managed to whisper. He licked his lips and closed his eyes, reveling in this new sensation. Bound and contained; totally under Armie’s care; helpless to his whims. It felt dangerous and yet safe at the same time. There was no one apart from his family that he trusted as much as he trusted Armie.

He opened his eyes to Armie staring at him with unconcealed love.

“Fuck, how did I get so lucky?” he asked rhetorically with a sigh. He slowly unbuttoned his own shirt, then folded it and carefully placed it on a nearby chair. Timmy squirmed against the restraints of the tie with desire at the sight of his boyfriend’s bare chest.

“Keep still,” Armie admonished. Timmy pouted, but stilled his body. Armie proceeded with his unhurried striptease, enjoying the obvious effect it was having on Timmy, his cock now helplessly hard and leaking against his stomach.

Once Armie was as naked as Timmy, he leaned down for a languid kiss, while taking advantage of his long arm span to reach into his nightstand drawer for his bottle of lube. He stood up, making his way back to between Timmy’s legs.

“I’m going to need you to try and keep still. And no coming until I say. Understood?” 

“Yes,” Timmy croaked, his hips starting to buck on their own accord.

Armie laughed and rolled his yes. “You have no self-control, do you? Good thing you are tied up.”

“Armieeee, put your fucking fingers inside of me!” Timmy whined, now fully writhing on the mattress, his wrists straining against the knots.

“You are such a demanding brat. But I love you anyway.”

He covered his fingers with a generous amount of lube; Timmy bent his legs at the knee, eager to give Armie access to his waiting hole. Armie eased a single finger into Tim’s heated entrance and grinned as he let out a satisfied moan. He started to roll his hips into Armie’s finger, but Armie stopped him with his free hand on his waist.

“Nuh uh. Stay still or you will get a spanking.”

Timmy’s cock twitched noticeably at that warning and Armie snorted. “I should have known not to make that threat.”

He slid his single finger in and out of Timmy a few times before he then gently added a second. Timmy bit his lip; Armie could see that he was struggling not to respond. His breathing was becoming erratic and his hips pulsed in tiny, barely perceptible movements.

“You’re being a very good boy for me,” Armie praised, his voice low and smooth. The words washed over Timmy like a soothing balm, and he was able to calm himself a bit more. He kept his body still while Armie continued to work him, carefully and lovingly, and soon he was open and ready for Armie. He ached to feel Armie inside him, but also to wrap his arms around him. But a part of him was also turned-on by this feeling of being completely given over to Armie. He was Armie’s possession for the night, to do with as he pleased; an object for use, and if he was good, he would be rewarded.

“Are you still ok, babe? Are your arms sore?” A look of concern flashed across Armie’s face; he wanted this, but only if it was good for Tim, as well.

“I haven’t said peaches, have I? I’m ready to have you inside me, Armie.” Timmy didn’t want to beg, but he needed to feel Armie’s body pressed against him and inside him immediately.

Armie needed no further words of encouragement. From his place between Tim’s knees, he lifted Tim’s legs up and placed them onto his shoulders. He bent down and drew a long, wet line with his tongue down Tim’s perineum, ending with a soft but firm swipe across his pulsing entrance. Tim gave a guttural moan, sounding so needy that Armie knew it was time.

“I love you, Tim,” he uttered, as he lined up his erection against Tim’s hot, gaping hole and pushed in. At the feel of Armie’s cock finally entering him, Tim called out his name and strained against the ties that bound him. Armie thought to chastise him, but was too overcome with the indescribable sensation of being sheathed in his boyfriend’s body. It never ceased to amaze him how satisfying Tim’s body felt; how perfectly they fit together. He would never, ever tire of taking him.

Armie was worked up by the sight of Tim tied and helpless below him; he knew he wouldn’t last long. He began fucking him in earnest, using Tim the way he knew Tim liked, pumping into him hard and fast. Tim rolled his hips to meet Armie’s thrusts, and his upper body thrashed with pleasure, despite the restraints.

They found their rhythm, moaning and cursing in tandem, their sweat mingling. Armie pounded into Tim, again and again, Tim unable to do much more than take it. He had thrown his head to the side, and he gasped with each hard thrust from Armie-“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” until that word even became indecipherable.

“You are doing so well for me, baby. I’m close…I’m going to touch you now so you can come. Are you ready?”

Tim was beyond words and nodded furiously. Armie took his leaking cock into his hand and pumped quickly, in time with his own final lunges. He felt his orgasm welling up then crashing down, like a hurricane making landfall- an unstoppable, indomitable force of nature; Tim’s own orgasm followed almost immediately. Armie stilled and gripped Tim’s hips as he released wave after wave of liquid pleasure into Tim, then collapsed onto his spent form beneath him. They lay like that for several minutes, hearts beating furiously, until Tim spoke up, his voice barely a whisper.

“Armie, will you untie me? My arms are getting cramped…”

Armie bolted up immediately. “Of course, baby! I am so sorry…let me do that for you.”

Armie untied the knots quickly, and Tim stretched out his limbs to release some of the tension; Armie watching him with concern.

“Are you hurting? I am so sorry…”

Tim laughed at Armie’s worry. “Don’t be sorry…that was one of the hottest things we have ever done. Just…get me a kleenex, will you?”

Armie breathed out a sigh of relief and went to the bathroom to get them both tissues to clean with. He wiped himself down, then crawled back into bed with Tim, wrapping his long arms around his precious boy, his heart so full of love, he wasn’t sure what to do with it all.

Tim turned to him with a grin. “So…this is your bedroom?”

Armie grinned back. Oh, the adventures this bedroom would witness. He could hardly wait to see what they would do next….


	25. Leaving on a Jet Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Armie prepare for the next big phase of their lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost it...this is the second-to-last chapter of this story! I'm sad but also excited to move on to another fic. 
> 
> As always, THANK YOU to all my readers. You will never know how much I enjoy your comments xoxox

Chapter 25

Leaving on a Jet Plane

May, 2021

“What’s the weather like in Italy in May? Should I pack all shorts, or mostly jeans? Sweatshirts, or mostly tee-shirts? FUCK, I really hate packing!”

Tim flung himself down face first onto his childhood bed, directly on top of the varied assortment of clothing currently taking up residence there. Armie watched the mini-tantrum from Tim’s desk chair, a look of amusement on his face. Tim lifted his head a few inches to throw him a stink-eye.

“What’s so funny? If I’m so entertaining, why don’t you help more?”

Armie pushed himself up off the chair and starting re-folding some of the clothing that Tim’s sprawled body had disrupted.

“I’m not laughing at you, babe. I just think it’s cute that you are 19 and still don’t know how to pack. Come on, scoot over. I’ll fold, you pack.”

Tim rolled onto his back and held his arms up, like a small child wanting to be retrieved from the ground. “Kiss first,” he said, in his most inviting voice, the one that he knew Armie could never resist.

Armie gave sigh, pretending to be put-out, but leaned down to give Tim the quickest of pecks on his lips, not wanting to distract Tim from packing any more than he already was. But Tim was ready for him, and as soon as Armie was within arm’s length, Tim grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled Armie down on top of him.

Armie huffed a surprised laugh, but finally decided that resistance was futile and gave into Tim’s neediness, delivery a longer, soft kiss. He understood the desperation- Tim was leaving for Crema in the morning, four weeks before Armie was due to arrive. It was the longest they had been apart since Armie had moved to New York.

Luca had decided that, for an authentic performance, Tim was to learn piano, guitar, and Italian before filming even began. Tim was excited for the opportunity, but devastated to leave Armie for so long. He had begged Luca to let Armie come early as well, but Luca was adamant that Tim needed to focus on his studies without the distraction of his boyfriend.

“When he arrives, you will be Elio, and he will become Oliver. _That_ is the way it must be done,” Luca insisted. Tim had pouted, but he had to admit, very quietly and only to himself, that Luca was right. He would miss Armie terribly, but it would make the film that much better.

But now it was 12 hours until his flight was set to take-off; he had barely started to pack, and all Tim could think about was having Armie inside of him one last time before he left. Having the full weight of Armie on him was only intensifying his horniness. He loved when Armie lay on top of him, crushing him in the best kind of way, and he was going to take full advantage of it. He weaved his arms tightly around Armie’s neck, and kissed him wet and deep.

“Your clothes,” Armie choked out, his words garbled due to Tim’s tongue that currently rammed down his throat.

“Fuck my clothes,” Tim growled into Armie’s mouth. He thrust his now-throbbing erection up between Armie’s thighs. He had every intention of getting his way, and he was willing to play dirty to get it. His mind was clouded by lust, and it would be impossible for him to focus on packing until he got off now. Or so he told himself.

Armie let out a groan at the feel of his boyfriend’s bulge pressing into him; his own cock was starting to take interest, but he knew he had to be the voice of reason. He pulled his mouth back from Tim’s.

“Babe, you are making this really difficult, but you have to pack. It’s almost midnight! Plus, your parents are right across the hallway.”

Tim reached up and gently rubbed the stubble on Armie’s cheek. “I know you think I’m just being a horny teenager, but this means a lot to me. Four weeks is a long time without feeling you inside of me.” He blinked his doe eyes up at Armie, then licked his lips. “We can be quiet. And fast! Don’t make me beg….”

Armie collapsed onto Tim in surrender. He was rock-hard by now, and his resolve to be responsible had dissolved after Tim’s speech.

“Ok, fine. You win,” he murmured into Tim’s shoulder. He gave it a nibble, causing Tim to let out a surprised yelp. “Let’s fuck.”

Tim gave a quiet, triumphant cheer. They quickly cleaned off the bed and stripped down bare, pausing between each item of clothing to share a kiss. Once they were both naked, Tim pressed his body flush against Armie, one of his favorite things to do. He ran his hands up and down Armie’s muscular back, nuzzling his hairy chest, then nibbling on one of Armie’s perfect nipples. Armie reveled in the attention, gently nudging his nose into Tim’s curls.

“How am I going to go four weeks without this body? I’m never going to make it!” Tim whined.

“We can talk and text, and Facetime every night. And you are going to be so busy, time will fly by. I promise.” Armie’s voice dropped, becoming low and sultry. “Now, shhh….no more talking.” 

Tim climbed onto the bed and positioned himself on his back, waiting while Armie grabbed the lube. He admired Armie’s back as he fumbled through Tim’s nightstand, looking for the elusive tube. After a minute of searching, he looked up at Tim with some concern.

“Are you sure you have some? It’s been awhile since we’ve had sex here.” 

Tim wracked his brain for a moment, then remembered. “It’s in the desk drawer. I was, um, watching porn at my desk, I think.” His face turned beet red at the confession, but Armie smirked with amusement.

“You really _are_ insatiable, aren’t you?”

Tim’s mouth fell open to protest. “I was home visiting my parents, and you were on location! It had been DAYS!”

Armie chuckled as he returned triumphantly to the bed with the lube. “Tim…babe…I _do not care_ if you masturbate when I’m not around. Now shut up and spread your legs.”

Armie opened up Tim quickly, as he was still loose from bottoming during their morning session. Armie slid one finger in, then a second, and pressed deep until he hit Tim’s favorite spot. He let out a tortured moan and bucked his hips into Armie’s hand.

“I’m ready, Armie,” he gasped.

Armie was mindful of the time, so he used his knowledge of the fastest way to get Tim off. He flipped him onto his stomach and pulled him up by his waist, so his ass was waving indecorously in the air. Tim turned and gave him a look.

“You’re playing dirty pool,” he chided, but was swiftly shut-up as Armie lined up the head of his cock at Tim’s entrance and started to push in. His reprimand immediately turned into a throaty “Fuuuuuck!”

Armie made good on his promise to take Tim fast and hard. He knelt between Tim’s open thighs, grasping his waist tight, slowly pushing his considerable length into Tim’s waiting hole. As soon as he was fully enveloped in tight flesh, he pulled out, then forcefully slammed back in. Tim let out another loud expletive of pleasure.

“Shh..babe! You’re going to wake your parents!” Armie whispered. Tim giggled and buried his face into his pillow to muffle the rest of his inevitable moans.

Armie starting thrusting in earnest, inspired by the sight of Tim’s gorgeous ass on full display in front of him. This wasn’t how he normally chose to make-love to his boyfriend, but they had limited time. Plus, he wanted Tim to feel this fuck for his entire flight tomorrow. Tim clutched the sheet next to the pillow, holding on for dear life as Armie pounded into him, over and over.

Armie had known what he was doing when he chose this position. After just a few minutes of frenetic thrusting, Tim lifted his head off the pillow and gasped. “I’m going to come, Armie!” and began to stroke himself. Armie quickened his pace even more; Tim stroked himself hard and fast and soon ribbons of come were shooting out of him. The sight sent Armie over the edge; his own orgasm began to burst out of him into Tim soon after.

Tim collapsed onto the bed, and Armie fell onto of him, both boys physically spent and out of breath. Armie wrapped his arms around Tim and pressed a few slow kisses into the back of his neck while their heart slowed to a normal pulse.

“Thank you for convincing me that we should do that,” he murmured. “You were right. I needed that, too.”

Tim didn’t respond right away, his heart still racing. Eventually, he mumbled into the pillow, “Say that again. That was _so hot_.”

Armie’s eyebrows knit with confusion. “Which part?”

Tim lifted his head and grinned at Armie. “The part when you said I was right!”

Armie laughed and swatted Tim’s bare ass. “You’re hilarious. Come one, let’s clean up and get you packed.”

______________________________________________

The next morning arrived much too fast. Tim had been up until almost 1am packing; then, when he finally crawled into his childhood bed next to a softly snoring Armie, he couldn’t fall asleep right away. While he had been packing, the reality of his situation nearly knocked him off of his feet. _He_ _was going to Italy to prepare to film a movie with Luca Guadagnino._ He couldn’t stop imagining what it was going to be like- the villa and little town of Crema that Luca has spoken about with such affection. Meeting the rest of the cast. Taking guitar, piano, and Italian lesson for hours every day. Then, finally, actually creating a movie _with Armie_. It was all so exciting and overwhelming; he actually thought that he might vomit.

Tim finally fell into a restless sleep sometime after 4am, so when his alarm went off at 7am, he was still exhausted. Armie, who gotten a decent night’s sleep, was up immediately, rattling around the room, opening the curtains and going through his own overnight bag.

“Time to get up, sleeping beauty. Today is a big day!”

Tim groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. “Five more minutes, mom…” he mumbled, still half asleep.

Armie leaned over and kissed his sweaty forehead. “I’ll come back in ten minutes. I’ll go make some coffee.”

Armie entered the kitchen to find Marc and Nicole bustling about, Marc making coffee and Nicole cutting up bagels for breakfast. They looked up simultaneously when Armie walked in.

“How’s our Elio this morning? Is he up yet?” Marc asked with a proud smile.

Armie shook his head. “He seems really tired; I think it was quite late when he finally came to bed last night. I told him I’d get him up in a few minutes.”

Nicole opened the refrigerator to retrieve the cream cheese and jam. “Well, he certainly has every right to be excited. Both of you do! What a year you have both had…”

And it was true; the last 18 months had been a whirlwind for both Armie and Tim. Tim had graduated with honors from La Guardia, writing and performing a one-man show as his senior project. It had generated a huge amount of buzz for a high school production, and he had subsequently been offered the lead in the Broadway play, The Prodigal Son. That role had led to offers of small parts in several big budget films the year before. Tim had been determined to stay in school and juggle his now burgeoning career and schoolwork, but when it became clear that he would have to make a choice, he chose acting. He had since been working steadily for the last six months, and was now preparing for what felt like the role of a lifetime.

Armie had had a busy, life-changing year, as well. He completed the role of Spike in the spring of the previous year, and had been offered roles in a few small, independent but prestigious films. Armie loved the challenge of the diverse characters: slave-owner, disaffected husband, stranded soldier. He felt more prepared for the role of Oliver than he had been when it was first offered to him, when he had only a few commercials and a week on stage under his belt.

The stress and separation from their respective growing careers might have derailed another couple, but Tim and Armie supported each other in their parallels journeys. By sheer luck of scheduling, they had never been apart for more than three weeks at a time and, though they had decided not to move in together right away, they spent almost every night together, usually at Armie’s apartment, but sometimes at Tim’s dorm when he had been at NYU, or at the apartment he currently shared with Will. They had made it work, and their relationship had blossomed.

It all felt like it was leading up to this- their summer of romance in Italy.

Armie gave Nicole a quick peck on her cheek, then poured two cups of coffee- his remained black; he added cream and a heaping tablespoon of sugar to Tim’s. Armie walked back down to Tim’s bedroom, nudged open the door with his hip, and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, balancing the two mugs of brew.

“Time to get up, babe. Your future awaits.”

Tim opened one tentative eye, then the other. He face brightened when he saw the mugs in Armie’s hands, providing the incentive he needed to actually push himself up to a sitting position with a yawn. Armie smiled; he knew his boyfriend well.

Tim took the proffered steaming cup of caffeine and deeply inhaled its contents. He gave a satisfied nod, and repeated Armie’s words with an excited smile.

“Our future awaits.”


	26. Somewhere in Northern Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are at the end of their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the last chapter of our boys' saga! I hope you all enjoyed my little experiment, having Timmy and Armie live out Call Me By Your Name, in more ways than one!
> 
> This last chapter was difficult to write, and it is far from perfect, but I am ready to end their story and move on. I hope it is satisfactory to my readers. I love and appreciate each and every one of you !
> 
> xoxox

Chapter 26

Somewhere in Northern Italy

Armie stretched his legs out in front of him, enjoying the roominess of his First Class seat. He took a sip of the chilled champagne he had impulsively accepted and decided that champagne tasted even better at 40,000 feet.

‘This is the life,’ he thought, making the decision right then to never fly coach again. He considered watching a movie to aid in falling sleep, but instead, took out his phone and re-read all of his texts from Tim from the weeks prior to Armie’s departure for the thousandth time. SO many messages- giddy descriptions of Crema, Luca’s apartment and the villa; sappy declarations of love; a video of him practicing the piano (which Armie loved more than he thought possible); and a few drunk texts with pictures attached of Tim in various states of undress.

Armie glanced around to make sure that his screen wasn’t in view of the passenger behind him, then scrolled to his favorite photo: Tim, pouty-faced and heavy-lidded, with no shirt on and his sweatpants pulled just low enough to show the beginning of his happy trail. Of course, there were more graphic pictures from Tim that Armie enjoyed immensely as well, but there was something about Tim’s expression in this particular picture- as if he were beckoning Armie into his bed, desperate for the heat of his body.

Armie felt his own dick twitch with interest, so he quickly powered down his phone before the situation became embarrassing. He switched off the t.v. screen in front of him, and pulled the blanket over his shoulders (which then pulled the too-short blanket off of his feet) to try and get some sleep. He would land in Linate airport in five hours, and he had a full day ahead of him once he got to Crema.

_____________________________________

Luca had a driver retrieve Armie from the Linate airport in Milan, which was a 40-minute drive to Crema. It was a cool, overcast day in Italy, which suited Armie fine. He leaned his head back and enjoyed the view of the small city morphing into countryside, and eventually into the picturesque town of Crema. He was too nervous and wired for small talk and was relieved that the driver didn’t seem to speak much English.

They pulled up in front of a large, ornate building near the center of the village; Armie was surprised to see Luca waiting there for him already. His nerves calmed a bit, seeing Luca’s face, beaming with a smile that was joyful and welcoming. Luca greeted him with his usual two kisses and an embrace, then took him inside to introduce him to Walter, one of the producers, and Sayombhu, the film’s cinematographer. They invited Armie to join them for an afternoon drink, but Armie demurred.

“To be honest, Luca, I am exhausted. I just want to see Tim and then take a quick nap before dinner.”

Luca nodded knowingly; of course Armie’s first priority was seeing his boyfriend.

“He is in his lessons right now, but I won’t make you wait. Go through the front door and up the stairs. Follow the sounds of the piano.”

Armie gave Luca a final grateful peck on the cheek and hurried into the building, eager to finally see Tim’s beautiful face. He was stopped short as soon as he opened the heavy front door by a surprisingly competent piano melody, wafting down from the second floor. Armie’s heart filled with pride, knowing how hard Tim had been working during these lessons. He couldn’t stop a grin spreading across his face as he bound up the stairs, following the notes pouring from above.

The music led him down a long hallway filled with antiques and artwork on the walls. Armie barely noticed all the interesting pieces in his excitement to reunite with Tim, but he made a mental note to explore the contents of this amazing place when he was in a different mindset. Armie finally reached the source of the music, the very last room at the end of the corridor. He slowed his gait, not wanting to disrupt the lesson in progress, then peered hesitantly through the door…

…and there he was, head bent in concentration; unruly curls falling into his eyes; his long, thin fingers positioned tenderly on the keys. Armie’s heart skipped a bit at his solemnity and focus; a part of him wanted to stand in silence and just watch. But then Tim seemed to sense his presence- his head lifted and turned in Armie’s direction. His entire face lit up, transforming into something almost childlike from the delight that shined there.

“Armie! I thought you weren’t supposed to get here for another hour!” Tim glanced up at his piano teacher, a stern man who looked somewhat put-out at the disturbance in their lesson.

“Can I have a minute?” he asked the teacher, uncertainty flashing across his features.

The teacher gave a quick nod. “We can take a two minute break. No more.” He allowed a slight smile. “Go see your friend.”

The wide grin returned to Tim’s face as he pushed away from the piano and quickly crossed the expanse of the room into Armie’s waiting embrace. Tim wrapped his arms tight around Armie’s chest, and tried to suppress the small, happy sob that was threatening to escape from his throat.

“You’re here,” he murmured into the crook of Armie’s neck. Armie squeeze him tight, breathing in the sweet, warm scent that was uniquely Tim.

“I’m here.”

They stood like that for a long moment, enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed together, their hearts and breathe slowly synchronizing. Tim pulled away first, reluctantly of course, but with a guilty glance at his waiting piano instructor.

“Where are you staying?” The question contained a hint of concern. Armie brushed it away.

“With you, silly. Where else would I be staying?”

Tim exhaled a sigh of relief. “I have so much to show you. I’ll be done in an hour?”

Armie nodded his assent. As much as he had missed Tim, he didn’t want to distract him from his responsibilities.

“I may be sleeping, but wake me up, okay?”

Armie bent down and delivered a much too-brief kiss; his lips immediately aching for more. ‘Later,’ he promised them. So much more, but later.

___________________________________

Tim’s concentration deteriorated significantly after Armie’s appearance, and even his teacher, usually so stern and uncompromising, could see that the rest of the lesson was a lost cause. He kept Tim another 20 minutes, then released him with a sigh.

“Go, Tim. But I expect twice the effort tomorrow.”

Tim accepted his dismissal with a grateful nod, barely suppressing his urge to give his teacher a hug, then rushed out the door before he could change his mind. 

He was at the door of the apartment that he and Armie would be sharing in record time. He turned the key slowly and tried to open the door without its usual creak, not wanting to wake Armie if he were already asleep. Once inside, he stood for a moment, listening for any evidence that Armie might be awake; there was only silence, so he tiptoed to the bedroom and opened the door a crack.

Armie was laid out diagonally across the king-sized bed, like a slumbering giant. The air in the apartment was warm and sultry, so he had stripped down to just a t-shirt and his boxers. Tim stood admiring his gorgeous hulk of a boyfriend, torn between wanting to snuggle up next to him and fall asleep, and wanting to wake him with his tongue, exploring every crevice he could reach.

Sympathy for Armie’s jet lag won out (Tim recalled sleeping the first 12 hours he had been in Crema), so he carefully crawled onto the bed, molding himself to Armie’s sleeping form. Armie roused long enough to wrap a strong arm around Tim and pull him in close, like a small child hugging a stuffed toy. Tim wiggled to get himself comfortable then, within minutes, his breath had slowed to match Armie’s soft snores, and he was fast asleep, as well.

_______________________________________________

Tim was still sleeping when he felt something velvety and wet lightly caressing his ear. He giggled and brushed it away, still groggy from his slumber. The tickling continued, venturing down his neck, then turning into a light nibble on his clavicle bone. Tim’s cock was fully awake before his brain was, twitching and filling with interest. Eventually, Tim opened one sleepy eye to see the sight of Armie hovering over him, his thick thighs straddling Tim’s slimmer ones, and his face firmly nuzzled into the crook of Tim’s neck.

Tim let out an approving sigh.

“Can you wake me like this every morning? This is amazing…”

A muffled grunt of assent vibrated from Armie’s mouth, directly onto Timmy’s throat. It sent a chill down his spine, ending in a pool of _want_ in his belly. Tim thrust his hips up, hitting nothing but air. He let out a needy moan, and tried to pull Armie down onto him.

“Closer,” he whined, and Armie gladly complied, carefully laying the full weight of his 6’5” body onto Tim. They let out simultaneous hums of relief and desire as their heavy cocks pressed against each other for the first time in four weeks.

“God, have I missed you,” Armie gasped, then captured Tim’s mouth in his own and finally… FINALLY…took the kiss that he had been dreaming about since his plane had taken off from JFK the previous night. The two boys enjoyed the taste and feel of each other’s lips, mouths and tongues for several minutes, stopping a few times to look at the other with stupid, love-sick grins on their faces and appreciate that they were, really and in fact, together again.

They kissed and dry-humped until Tim could no longer take it. Having Armie flush against him, with their erections rubbing together, harder and harder, and faster and faster….he was _thisclose_ to coming without ever shedding a single piece of clothing. That was NOT the outcome he wanted on their first night back together.

He pulled away from the wet kiss and pleaded, “Armie, I want you inside me…”

His words shot through Armie like an arrow; it had been over a month since he had fucked Tim, and he was on the edge from their intense make-out session alone. He grasped Tim tight and stilled his body.

“I want that, too, babe, but fuck…I need a minute.” 

He lay on Tim, his face buried in the pillow next to his head, catching his breath until he felt himself retreating from the edge. He mentally chastised his erection for its over-enthusiasm.

He drew in a deep breath and looked down at Tim’s gorgeous, flushed face. “Do you have so lube? I do…somewhere in my bag…if you don’t.”

Tim shook his head. “No, don’t get up. I do, I do.” He reached an arm out from under Armie and opened the drawer next to his bed, grabbing a tube.

Armie grinned. “Convenient.”

Tim bucked his hips up into Armie. “What? Are you complaining? That’s where you kept YOUR lube in my room, if I remember correctly!”

Armie chuckled. “I remember. Just give me the damn tube and get naked.”

Armie stood up next to the bed, his erection straining against the fabric of his boxers. He set the tube down and pulled off his shirt in one swift motion. Tim had lifted his hips to pull off his own boxers, but then stopped, mid-motion, to enjoy the show.

Armie arched an eyebrow. “Are you just going to lay there and watch?”

Tim smirked mischievously, lying back on his pillow with his arms behind his head. “It’s been way too many long weeks since I’ve seen your naked body. Can you blame me? Carry on.”

Armie shrugged and slowly lowered the waistband of his boxers past his hipbones, revealing his dark blonde pubic hair. Tim swallowed in anticipation at what would come next....this never got old. Armie gave a self-satisfied glance at his audience of one, enjoying having his undivided attention, then pushed down his boxers the rest of the way in one smooth movement. His dick immediately sprang free, standing long and hard at attention. Tim licked his lips with anticipation of having his own personal Adonis in his bed. He made grabby hands for Armie to return to the bed, but Armie shook his head.

“Nope, not until you’re naked, too.”

Tim quickly shucked his tee-shirt and underwear while Armie coated his fingers with a liberal amount of lubricant. He chuckled at the realization that this wasn’t going to be a romantic making-love session. No, they were both far too worked up for that. Romance can come later, he decided with an internal shrug.

Tim sat back against the headboard, his legs bent at his knees. Armie took a moment to appreciate how fucking sexy his boyfriend was when he was naked. Milky, flawless skin; his nipples pert from the air of the room; his limbs long, thin and muscular. He was perfect, Armie thought.

Armie crawled onto the bed next to Tim, slipping a slick finger into him, working him open quickly. Tim watched him with dark, needy eyes, massaging his cock languorously, trying to control the already building sensation coming from the feel of Armie’s thick fingers inside of him. Tim felt probed, explored, as if Armie were trying to discover something new deep within Tim. He pushed down with his hips onto Armie's fingers, already wanting more.

“Fuck me now, Armie. I’m ready...” he gasped.

Armie didn’t hesitate- he was between Tim’s legs, pushing in within seconds. He clasped onto Tim’s shoulders, kissing him long and deep, as his length slowly disappeared within Tim’s tight depths. He groaned at the feel…how had he gone a month without this?

Tim, impatient as always, grabbed onto Armie’s ass, coaxing him in faster, harder. Armie resisted, already so close to the edge, but he could never resist Tim for too long when he was horny and needy. He paused for a quick moment once he was fully sheathed within Tim, feeling his heart beating through his cock, into Tim’s perfect heat. Tim whined and bucked his hips…he didn’t want beautiful love-making. He wanted to held down and ruined by Armie, and he wanted that now.

Armie surrendered to that, of course. He started thrusting into Tim; the feel of him was everything he loved in the world, condensed into that small, warm space between Tim’s legs. He began to pump faster and faster, propelled on by the whimpers of pleasure coming from below him. He looked down at Tim- his eyes were closed, his lips were red and parted, his tongue was peeking out as he panted. Tim felt Armie’s eyes on him and opened his own. He smiled and gasped out, “Fuck, you make me feel good, babe.”

Tim’s words shot straight to Armie's dick. He began to pump into Tim quicker and harder; worrying, as always, that he might hurt the boy, but reassured by his his own name being moaned from Tim's lips. Too soon, he felt his orgasm welling up within him…it had been a long time, and he wasn’t a teenager anymore.

“Fuck Tim, I’m going to come,” he declared, his voice full of gravel. Tim took his leaking own cock in his hand and began to pull at it, almost in perfect rhythm with Armie’s violent thrusts. He began to curse furiously; his tell that he was close, too. Moments later, a ribbon on hot come exploded out of Tim; he let out a yell that could have been mistaken for pain, but Armie knew better. He let himself go, pumping a few more times into Tim as he felt his own incredible release shoot out of him, taking with it four weeks of angst and worry and loneliness.

Armie collapsed onto Tim as they came down from their highs. He took a second to catch his breath then laughed. “Fuck, that was quick. I’m sorry.”

Tim gave his temple a soft kiss. “Hey, dummy, I came before you did. Or did you not notice? It’s been a long month for me, too.”

Armie snuggled in even closer to Tim’s warm body. “Yeah, but you’re still a teenager. You have an excuse. I should last longer.”

Tim shook his head at Armie’s ridiculousness. “God, I’ve missed you. So, we get to do this every night now, right?”

Armie pushed up onto his elbows. “Yup. _And_ we get to make a movie together. In ITALY! Fuck Tim, how did we get so lucky?” He looked around at the quaint Italian bedroom for the first time, shaking his head in amazement. “I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up from this.”

Tim grinned. “Just wait, Armie. It gets so much better. Wait until you have dinner at Luca’s and see his apartment and eat his cooking. And you’ll get to meet more of the crew! Everyone is so nice. And tomorrow I’ll take you around Crema, and show you all my favorite spots. God, I can’t wait! I am so fucking glad you are finally here.”

“Me, too, Tim. Me, too.”

_____________________________________________

Armie had his first of several four hour dinners at Luca’s apartment that night. He met Violante, the set designer, and Gaia, the landscape designer. Sayombhu and Walter were there, as well as Luca’s partner, Ferdinando. Tim whispered that there were so many more people who came and went; he was still learning everyone’s names. Brian and Peter were to arrive the next day; Michael and Amira and the rest of the cast weren’t coming for a few more weeks.

They feasted on an amazing four-course meal prepared by Luca’s personal chef, then retreated to the balcony for after-dinner digestifs. Luca promised a tour of the rest of his apartment the next day, and he announced that the villa was almost complete; they would be able to see it in the next few days. Tim and Armie listened, enraptured, as Violante and Gaia described the transformation the villa had undergone in the last few weeks.

“It is almost ready for the Perlman family. And for Oliver,” Luca said, with a smile in Armie’s direction. Tim and Armie glanced at each other, the realization hitting them almost simultaneously that they, like the villa, were undergoing their own transformation. Armie squeezed Tim’s hand tight. Tears sprang from Tim’s eyes; he quickly wiped them away, seemingly surprised at their sudden appearance. Armie could see that he was emotional, from talking about the villa and their characters, maybe having Armie there. He felt his own chest tighten with emotion.

This shoot, this entire experience, was going to be life-changing. At that moment, he didn’t know the specifics.

He couldn’t know that he and Tim would become Elio and Oliver that summer, falling deeper in love with every passing day while riding bikes through the Italian countryside in the morning, then filming every afternoon. He couldn’t know that, after filming, they would embark on an 18-month press tour that, at first, would bring them closer, then almost tear them apart with its unrelenting nature. He couldn’t know that the film would be nominated for scores of awards, including a Golden Globe and Best Actor Oscar nomination for Tim, a source of unimaginable pride for Armie. He couldn’t know that his years of struggling as an actor would be over, and that they would be in almost constant demand from directors and producers. He couldn’t know that he and Tim would become so recognizable that they would be stopped on the streets by fans; that there would be websites and Instagram accounts and Facebook groups dedicated to them. And he couldn’t know that, through this entire exciting, emotional rollercoaster ride, he and Tim would stand, side-by-side, supporting each other, being the others’ biggest cheerleader, giving advice, a shoulder to cry on or a much-needed dose of reality.

He couldn’t know these things, of course. But he knew…this was the start of something big. He leaned down, kissed his beautiful boyfriend on his cheek and whispered into his ear, “I love you, babe. I’m so happy we are on this crazy journey together.”

Tim said nothing at first, he just set his emerald eyes on Armie’s face, taking in his gorgeous sky-blue eyes, his square jaw covered with a day’s worth of stubble, and his perfect lips. His own stomach lurched with love and gratitude.

“Me, too, Armie. I love you, too. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone but you.”

And Tim was Elio, and Armie was Oliver, and they shared a kiss that held the promise of a life-time together.


	27. Aesthetic for Summer in the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @charmie-inspiration for creating this aesthetic for Summer in the City!


	28. Bonus chapter- NYU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy gets some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I originally planned on writing a bunch of brief snapshots of Timmy's and Armie's lives together the year before they left for Italy, but then....I kind of was ready to wrap up this story and scrapped that idea. HOWEVER, I had this chapter written before I made that decision. It's not too exciting, no smut, and it's not even especially fluffy. But, I wrote it and here it is :D 
> 
> It is barely edited, so forgive any and all errors.

Snapshots- NYU

12/17/19

Timmy trudged home from school on a gloomy Tuesday afternoon in mid-December, shuffling his feet through the sludgy snow that was left over from a storm the night before. Despite things going almost implausibly well in his life at the moment, he was feeling a bit of melancholy. He wasn’t sure if it was simply a reaction to the cold, overcast day. Or, more likely, it was related to the fact that he hadn’t seen Armie in almost week due to his own crazy schedule of daily school attendance, studying for exams, and going to the final few rehearsals for Sweet Charity before the play premiered that weekend. Whatever it was, Timmy was in a mood when he reached his apartment building. 

He greeted the doorman with a brief, tight smile then stopped, as he always did, at the family mailbox. He stuck his hand in, annoyed that the letterbox seemed to be overly full with envelopes folded and jammed in to fit the small space. He pulled out the largest, most offensive envelope to help free the rest of the mail, and took a look at the front. He gasped when he saw that it was addressed to him; the return address read New York University. He suddenly remembered the date- December 17. Early decision from NYU was December 15. He clasped the thick envelope to his coat, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

Tim was too excited to go all the way upstairs to call Armie, so he sat down on the lobby bench and pressed his number. Armie answered on the first ring; luckily he was always eager to talk to his boyfriend after a long day of rehearsal.

“Tim! How was your day, babe?”

Tim took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but then burst out, “I got the Early Acceptance envelope from NYU! Armie, it’s thick…I think I got in, but I need you on the phone while I open it….”

“Oh my god, yes, of course! Open it, open it!”

Timmy pressed the enveloped against his forehead, as if to divine its contents. The small package held his future- stay in New York for the next four years, or leave to study in another city. Away from his family, away from Armie, away from everything safe and familiar. 

“Here goes nothing…” he sighed, carefully opening the top of the envelope so as not to accidentally rip any of the papers it contained. He slowly slid out the documents, tossed aside the envelope, and read aloud the first line of the opening letter: “ ‘On behalf of the admission committee, it is my honor and privilege to share with you that you have been admitted via the early decision process to College of Arts and Science at New York University.’ I got in, Armie! I got in!” 

Timmy leaned his head back against the wall in relief. He had dreamed of going to NYU since he was in middle school, and it seemed impossible that it was going to actually happen.

“I knew you would, babe. You were destined to go there. I am so fucking proud of you.” Armie’s voice cracked with emotion; Timmy smiled at the thought of his sentimental boyfriend getting choked up at this news.

“Well, I’m glad you had faith in me. I had no idea if I would get in or not. God, Armie, I am so relieved. I know those other colleges are good, too, but I really can’t imagine going anywhere but NYU, or living anywhere but New York. And we just got back together…how could I even consider being apart from you again?”

Now that Timmy knew that he would be able to stay in New York, he allowed himself to imagine how it would have been to have had to pack up and leave Armie to go to Boston, or Chicago, or, most ironically, Los Angeles. His body shuddered involuntarily at the thought. 

Armie had never admitted it to Tim, but he shared the same fears, and was equally relieved that had been admitted to his first choice school. “Let’s be grateful that we never had to face that reality. So…how should we celebrate this incredible news?”

“Hmmmm, good question. I was thinking that I could top this weekend.”

A deep, surprised chuckle sounded through Tim’s phone; Tim smirked to himself, pleased with how his request had affected his boyfriend. 

“Well, I was thinking dinner at a fancy restaurant, but I think maybe we can arrange both,” Armie laughed.

“It’s a date.” 

Tim hung up the phone and hugged it to chest. A feeling of deep content washed over him, like a warm bath after being out in the cold for too long. He wanted to freeze this moment in amber and keep it with him always. Could his life stay this perfect forever?


End file.
